Sunetra Pawar | Out of the shadows

Her regard fixed connected the floor, pallu firmly tucked implicit some shoulders, sadness successful her eyes and a quiescent demeanour. That is however Sunetra Pawar, parent of 2 sons and woman of erstwhile Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP supremo Ajit Pawar, walked into Maharashtra’s Vidhan Bhavan connected Saturday (January 31, 2026). Flanked by enactment leaders, she strode softly to the NCP bureau successful Mumbai and paid floral tributes to the photograph of her husband, who was killed successful a level clang connected January 28. It was present that the party, which her hubby formed 3 years agone on with respective determination satraps aft rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar, chose her unanimously arsenic its person connected Saturday.

Within immoderate time, clad successful a achromatic saree, she reached Lok Bhavan to beryllium sworn successful arsenic Maharashtra’s archetypal pistillate Deputy Chief Minister. None of the Pawar household members, but her son, were contiguous for the swearing-in ceremony, arsenic they said they were not invited. For Sharad Pawar, who had erstwhile called her an ‘outsider’ successful the Pawar family, the contiguous interest was to instrumentality attraction of the grief-struck family.

She takes implicit the reins of her husband’s enactment astatine a clip erstwhile it faces a endurance crisis. There is simply a buzz astir a imaginable reunification betwixt the NCP and Sharad Pawar’s NCP SP, arsenic the enactment wrong the NCP looks fragmented and directionless. Like astir determination parties which are dynastic successful nature, the NCP excessively would privation a Pawar astatine the helm to support it together. The statement implicit which Pawar should helm it and whether Sharad Pawar should present instrumentality the determination for some parties together, is yet to beryllium settled. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar has himself said it was elder NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare who had taken decisions for their party, indicating that they were trying to support the remainder of the Pawar household retired of it.

Tall task

Sunetra Pawar is simply a governmental novice, accidental critics, who volition present effort to capable successful the ample shoes of her late husband, who was known arsenic an capable administrator, a person with a chiseled wide entreaty and captivating oratory skills. His abrupt demise has turned the tripolar governmental harvester of the ruling Mahayuti to a bipolar one. The assertive NCP, which had created its ain abstraction successful the alliance, faces a pugnacious roadworthy ahead, accidental critics.

So far, Sunetra Pawar had been seen lone successful the shadows of Ajit Pawar. She has been a Rajya Sabha MP for the past twelvemonth and a half, with implicit 26 years of acquisition successful societal work and the acquisition sector. In immoderate case, she has truthful acold taken a subservient role, coming from a governmental civilization wherever women are seen arsenic a subsidiary enactment strategy to their ambitious men folk.

She was calved and brought up successful Ter colony successful Dharashiv successful Marathwada, successful a Maratha governmental family. Her member Padmasinha Patil was a Minister successful the State government. A Bachelor of Commerce by education, she took much involvement successful music, photography and painting. Friends accidental she has been intimately progressive successful respective agrarian development, acquisition and women’s empowerment projects successful Baramati for years.

“She is simply a sensitive, meticulous and caring idiosyncratic who ever prioritised her children, her mother-in-law, her household and her village, taking keen involvement successful each tiny agrarian empowerment inaugural successful (Ajit Pawar’s location municipality of) Katewadi,” said a person Asha Shinde.

When successful Mumbai, she would emotion photographing the sun, the oversea and nature, said friends.

She sings well, loves listening to music, loves to paint. One of her coating exhibitions was hosted successful Mumbai. “Even erstwhile we would spell retired arsenic friends, she would instrumentality a fewer audio cassettes with her. We would perceive to beauteous songs connected our mode to the trip,” said Vandana Katti, a person of implicit 22 years.

Many of her adjacent friends expressed assurance that she volition beryllium an evolved, progressive and delicate person who knows however to instrumentality radical along. For now, the question is whether she volition beryllium capable to support her flock unneurotic and navigate the enactment and household relations done the astir challenging phase.