On Saturday, Sharad Pawar, the leader of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar wing) said that he did not know whether Sunetra Pawar, the wife of the late Ajit Pawar, would be sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on Saturday.
What Did Sharad Pawar Say About The Oath-Taking Ceremony?
He made this statement days after his Ajit Pawar succumbed to a fatal plane crash as he was travelling to Baramati. Pawar also disclosed that discussions to unite the two groups of the NCP had been going on during the last four months. As he believes, Ajit Pawar had previously proposed that the merger should be on February 12. Is this however after the unfortunate tragedy that all talks on the merger have been suspended. The senior leader declared that although he was not directly engaged in the negotiations, the negotiations were underway between the senior leaders Jayant Patil on his side and Ajit Pawar. Sharad Pawar also said that the two parties had continued to desire unity, however, the case had since changed with the death of his nephew. Four others including his personal security officer Vidhit Jadhav, pilot Sumit Kapur, first officer Shambhavi Pathak and cabin crew member Pinky Mali lost their lives in an accident involving their Learjet 45 aircraft during a landing. The event has remarkably changed the political scenario in Maharashtra and has brought about debates of succession in leadership in the NCP.
Sunetra Pawar’s Oath-Taking As Maharashtra Deputy CM
In the meantime, the NCP leaders have assured that Sunetra Pawar, also a member of the Rajya Sabha, will replace her late husband in the office and assume the oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. On Saturday 40 party members will gather in Vidhan Bhavan to choose her as the leader of the NCP party in the legislature. She will then be sworn in at a low profile event at Lok Bhavan at 5 PM. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Mahayuti alliance would back the decision of NCP and that the government is with the family of Ajit Pawar and the party in this trying time.
