NCP legislature party meeting scheduled for Saturday; swearing-in ceremony expected at 5 PM amid party merger speculation
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, will become Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister, sources confirmed Friday. The announcement will be made following Saturday’s NCP legislature party meeting, with the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 5 PM.
The Deputy CM position fell vacant after Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash earlier this week. He held the portfolios of Finance, Excise, and Sports alongside his deputy chief minister role. Sources indicate the Finance Ministry may now remain with CM Devendra Fadnavis, who will likely present the state budget in March.
Friday witnessed intensive political consultations. NCP leaders including Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Sunil Tatkare met CM Fadnavis at his Varsha Bungalow residence to discuss portfolios and the deputy CM position. Later, Sunetra Pawar consulted political strategist Naresh Arora in Baramati before reportedly agreeing to assume the position.
Significantly, claims emerged that Ajit Pawar was negotiating a merger between the two NCP factions before his death. Senior leaders from both camps,NCP’s Jayant Patil and Kiran Gujar, along with NCP(SP)’s Eknath Khadse confirmed that merger talks had reached advanced stages.
If realized, the unified NCP would command 9 Lok Sabha MPs and 51 MLAs, potentially reshaping Maharashtra’s political landscape. The merger was strategically timed after local body elections to consolidate vote banks in western Maharashtra’s sugar belt, where BJP has recently gained ground.
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