Sharad Pawar Unaware of Sunetra Pawar’s Oath Plan as Deputy CM, Says Merger Talks on Hold

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar said on Friday that he was not aware of whether his nephew Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, would take oath as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister on Saturday following Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash earlier this week.

Speaking to reporters, Pawar said discussions were underway to merge the two factions of the NCP and that Ajit Pawar had wanted the merger to take place on February 12.

He said the talks had been continuing for the past four months and that both sides remained keen on reunification.

“There has been a desire from both sides to come together,” Pawar said, adding that negotiations were being led by senior leaders, including Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar.

The veteran leader said he was not directly involved in the talks and that discussions have now been paused following his nephew’s death.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, died on Wednesday along with four others when their Learjet 45 aircraft crashed while landing in Baramati. The other victims included his personal security officer Vidhit Jadhav, pilot Sumit Kapur, first officer Shambhavi Pathak and cabin crew member Pinky Mali.

The tragedy has significantly altered Maharashtra’s political landscape.

Meanwhile, NCP leaders said Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, is set to succeed her husband and take oath as deputy chief minister on Saturday.

She is also expected to be elected leader of the NCP legislature party earlier in the day. The party’s 40 legislators are scheduled to meet at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai at 2 pm to finalize the decision.

Following her election, Sunetra Pawar is likely to take oath in a low-key ceremony at Lok Bhavan at 5 pm, party sources said.