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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

‘Vahini’ crowned NCP’s new ‘Maharani’

Mumbai:  Damning all political ‘pundits’ and ‘punters’ on the fate of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after its President and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s numbing death in an air-crash on Jan. 28, his widow Sunetra Ajit Pawar seamlessly bounced into his place, both in the party and the government. Feeling orphaned and rudderless, the top-brass quickly elected Sunetra, 62, a Rajya Sabha Member, as the new NCP President, as the NCP Legislature Party Group Leader and as the Deputy CM of the state –...

‘Vahini’ crowned NCP’s new ‘Maharani’

Mumbai:  Damning all political ‘pundits’ and ‘punters’ on the fate of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after its President and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s numbing death in an air-crash on Jan. 28, his widow Sunetra Ajit Pawar seamlessly bounced into his place, both in the party and the government. Feeling orphaned and rudderless, the top-brass quickly elected Sunetra, 62, a Rajya Sabha Member, as the new NCP President, as the NCP Legislature Party Group Leader and as the Deputy CM of the state – making her the first woman to occupy the august post – and ensuring continuity with change. Most political analysts – who crowed of an impending doom for the NCP – were left speechless and breathless at Sunetra’s dramatic catapult into three key positions, wielding full control, barely 72 hours after her husband’s passing. For the soft-spoken Sunetra, these official positions may be new, but she’s hardly naïve and boasts a quiet and commanding profile in public life, in the social and business fields, though she was rarely seen and hardly heard, letting Ajit Pawar bask in the limelight. Political Clan Hailing from a prominent state political clan, her reluctant political journey started in summer-2024 when the NCP fielded her against her ‘nanad’ (and Ajit Pawar’s cousin), Supriya Sule, a three-time veteran MP from the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. It was intended to score political brownies over the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) of Sharad Pawar after the party he founded 25 years ago suffered a bitter vertical split in July 2023 - that even divided all the people in every home of Baramati. The 2024 Baramati LS contest rivalled that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Varanasi), but in the ‘Vahini’ ‘Nanad’ fight, the latter emerged victorious. However, Sunetra Pawar took it in her stride and she became a Rajya Sabha Member in June 2024 – which she quit today after taking over a Dy CM. Both Sunetra and Supriya enjoy cordial relations, both were MPs, both ensured the heat and dust of politics did not affect familial ties – as strictly ensured by Sharad Pawar since the past six decades – and was visible when the entire Pawar clan turned out to support her after Ajit Pawar’s sudden death. Away in Shadows Born in Ter, Dharashiv, Sunetra is the younger sister of former Minister and ex-MP Padamsinh B. Patil, and is a B.Com . Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, but preferred to stay away in the shadows. Silently working, Sunetra gradually built a public profile rooted in sustainable development, environmental conservation, women’s empowerment and rural transformation. Combining community-based involvement with institutional leadership, she played a significant role in shaping mass rural development models in the state. In 2010, she founded the NGO Environmental Forum of India (EFOI), that focused on environmental awareness and sustainable rural practices, introduced India’s eco-village model, integrating sanitation, renewable energy, waste management, green-bridge technology, solar technology and livelihood generation into rural development. It caught national attention after Katewadi village in Baramati was transformed into the country’s first eco-village in 2008. She led the Nirmal Gram (Clean Village) Campaign through self-help groups across 86 villages in Maharashtra, promoting organic farming, biodiversity conservation, water management and drought mitigation. Over the years, her initiatives bagged her multiple honours like the Sant Gadge Baba Swachata Abhiyan Award, Green Warrior Award, Cyber Gram Award, Nirmal Gram Award presented by then President Pratibha Patil, and recognition at the SACOSAN Summit under SAARC. In 2006, she took over as Chairperson of the Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park Ltd, a multi-modal garment manufacturing cluster under the Centre’s Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks. Employing over 15,000 rural women, the park provides subsidies, training and skill-upgradation facilities, and ranks as her flagship contribution to women’s empowerment, with widespread recognition. Sunetra is a Trustee of Vidya Pratishthan, the premier educational institution with over 25,000 students, founded in 1972 by Sharad Pawar, and is a member of a Think Tank, the World Entrepreneurship Forum, France, since 2011, and is a Trustee-Advisor to an old age home in Baramati. Sunetra Ajit Pawar – propelled into high-profile duties three days after her husband Ajit Pawar’s death – is usually seen sporting pastel-shaded plain saris of different materials, silks, starched cottons, with light designs, accompanied by matching or colourful or printed blouses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunetra Pawar was allotted excise, sports, minority development and Aukaf departments, but not finance and planning which her late husband Ajit Pawar held.

BJP stays sensitively neutral

New Delhi: In the wake of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's untimely death, a whirlwind of political maneuvering has engulfed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its Sharad Pawar-led faction (NCP-SP). Yet, amid the frenzy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken the high road, choosing to stay sensitively neutral out of deep respect for the departed leader. This deliberate restraint from BJP's senior leaders signals a maturity, indicating that they understand that no politicking in the face of such a poignant tragedy. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has underscored this stance, affirming that the BJP will respect and support every decision the NCP makes.

 

As speculation swirls - from selecting a new NCP legislature party leader and positioning Ajit Pawar's wife, Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar, as Deputy CM, to whispers of a merger between the two NCP factions - the BJP's national leadership remains neutral. "It is improper to indulge in politics during this sorrowful and sudden loss," they assert. The authority to shape NCP's leadership in the Maharashtra Assembly and its governmental role rests squarely with the party itself. Whatever path the NCP chooses, the BJP pledges its honor and backing.

 

This principled detachment extends to venerating Sharad Pawar as a senior statesman. The BJP respects his choices for his party, be it a potential NCP-SP merger or other matters. Ajit Pawar's void has left Maharashtra's government and politics hollow, prompting the NCP to accelerate moves that anointing Sunetra Pawar as legislature party leader and advancing her Deputy CM claim to signal intent.

 

Conversely, Sharad Pawar and NCP-SP continue pushing merger talks, citing a January 16 meeting of senior leaders under Sharad and Ajit Pawar that allegedly greenlit unification for February 8. Merger buzz has bubbled for four to five months, yet no formal announcement materialized until recently, only for NCP veteran Praful Patel to clarify today that no such decision emerged from that meeting.


Dynastic Skirmishes

Tensions hint at a political clash between Sharad Pawar and Sunetra Pawar; sources say Sharad voiced irritation over her ascent to legislature leader and Deputy CM contender. Dynastic skirmishes are par for the course in family-led parties, witness Sunetra's 2024 Lok Sabha defeat in Baramati to her sister-in-law NCP-SP's Supriya Sule. The BJP wisely seeks distance from this familial fray.

 

Recent meetings between NCP seniors Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, and Chhagan Bhujbal with CM Fadnavis, twice yesterday and today, intensified talk of Sunetra as the next Deputy CM. Pressed on whether she might become Maharashtra's first female Deputy Chief Minister, Fadnavis responded crisply: "That's the NCP's call. We'll support it fully."

 

As per sources, BJP's central office has directed all leaders to stay silent on NCP's leader selection, Deputy CM bid, or merger, deeming them internal affairs. In tribute to Ajit Pawar, the party commits to endorsing the NCP legislature party's choices. This is statesmanship at its finest that letting grief guide decorum over opportunism. In Maharashtra's cutthroat arena, the BJP's restraint could redefine political grace.

 

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