Explained : Sunetra Pawar tipped as Ajit Pawar’s political heir, deputy CM role under consideration and Its Impact

Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha MP. To appoint her as deputy chief minister, the party plans to have her contest an Assembly by-election from Ajit Pawar’s constituency. Party insiders believe she will receive strong sympathy votes and that her victory is assured. If appointed, she would become Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister. Sunetra Pawar is the daughter of former state minister and former Lok Sabha MP Padamsinh Patil.

Sources also said the party intends to send a formal proposal recommending Sunetra Pawar’s appointment as deputy chief minister to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state’s other deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.

There is also speculation that if Sunetra Pawar accepts the posts of national president and deputy CM, she will resign from the Rajya Sabha. In that event, the party may consider nominating her elder son Parth Pawar, who is politically active, to fill the vacancy. Parth Pawar had earlier contested and lost from the Maval parliamentary constituency.

Meanwhile, discussions have resurfaced within the party about a possible merger of the two NCP factions. Ajit Pawar himself had earlier made efforts in this direction. Municipal elections were contested jointly with Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and there had also been a decision to fight district council and panchayat samiti elections together.

However, political equations have shifted somewhat since Ajit Pawar’s death. Zirwal said the Pawar family had already come together, making further talk of reunification redundant. Shashank Shinde, state president of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, said Ajit Pawar and some party leaders had envisioned sitting together after the district council and panchayat samiti elections to take a final call. “That dream remained unfulfilled,” Shinde said. “His role was to bring the family and all of us together and move forward collectively.”