Sunetra Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Saturday at 5 pm,
She has accepted the proposal for her elevation and will continue to hold the Excise and Sports ministries in the state government.
As per NCP sources, the Finance portfolio will remain temporarily with CM Devendra Fadnavis as the budget session is scheduled in March, but it will later go to the NCP.
According to sources, senior party leaders proposed Sunetra Pawar’s appointment as Deputy Chief Minister to set the party’s direction afore the Pune Zilla Parishad elections scheduled for February 7.
Sources further revealed that discussions took place within the Pawar family following the proposal. After these deliberations, Sunetra Pawar agreed to take on the role of Deputy Chief Minister.
Notably, the oath-taking ceremony on Saturday evening formally marked her entry into the state’s top executive leadership alongside the Chief Minister.
Earlier in the day, talking to reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) office, Bhujbal said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he has no issues if her oath-taking ceremony as the deputy CM takes place on Saturday itself.
Ajit Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday morning after the aircraft carrying him crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The plane crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board the chartered plane. Among the deceased were his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.
On Thursday, Ajit Pawar’s last rites were carried out with full state honours at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati, where his sons lit the funeral pyre and carried out the final rituals.
Several prominent leaders and dignitaries, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, and actor Riteish Deshmukh, attended the funeral and paid their last respects.
News Edit KV Raman
