Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected national president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) at the party’s national convention held in Mumbai on Thursday. The 62-year-old took over the reins following the death of her husband, Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28.
Sunetra Pawar becomes the third national president of the NCP, after party founder Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar. Her elevation comes amid renewed calls from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) for a merger of the party’s two factions. However, top party leaders used the national convention as a platform to make it absolutely clear that they are not interested in any such merger, and even criticised the NCP (SP) leadership in their speeches.
With her elevation as NCP chief, Sunetra has completed the process for taking control of the party. She was earlier elected head of the NCP’s legislative unit and last month took oath as deputy chief minister in place of her late husband. She now joins the ranks of prominent women political leaders who have headed national or regional parties, including Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Jayalalithaa. She will also contest the bypoll for the Baramati assembly constituency, which was represented by her husband for eight consecutive terms.
Her name was proposed for the post by NCP working president Praful Patel at the convention held at the NSCI Dome in Worli. Delegates from across the country endorsed the proposal by raising their hands. “I announce Sunetra Ajit Pawar as the new NCP president,” Patel declared. The proposal was seconded by Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare.
An emotional Sunetra said she would work to fulfil the unfinished dreams of her late husband for the development of Maharashtra. “Ajit dada’s sudden departure has created a vacuum that cannot be filled, but the faith in me reposed by you is my biggest strength, and I will work with all the loyalty to strengthen the party,” the deputy chief minister said.
She asserted that she was not new to party politics, noting that she had been associated with the NCP, directly or indirectly, since its inception. “I spent 40 years with Ajit dada and have seen struggle. Hence, even the responsibility handed over to me is very difficult. But with your support, I am sure it is not impossible,” she said.
Sunetra said the party would have to work harder to regain its national status and strengthen its presence in urban areas. “We know that we are strong in rural areas, but in urban areas we have to strengthen our ground,” she said.
NCP insiders said that although Sunetra Pawar now has complete control of the party, she faces several challenges. “She will have to prove her leadership, which is not easy considering the style of working of Ajit Pawar, who used to never hesitate to go out of the way to support the workers and leaders and hence was extremely popular among MLAs even when the party was led by Sharad Pawar,” said a senior NCP functionary.
During the national convention, the party also re-elected Praful Patel as national working president and Sunil Tatkare as Maharashtra president. In his speech, Patel dismissed calls from NCP (SP) leaders for a merger as politics.
“Those who have nothing to do with us were suggesting what we should be doing next [following Ajit Pawar’s death]. They are ones who have one thing in their heart and something else on their tongue. I am grateful to party MLAs for taking the right decision at the right time by electing Sunetra vahini as the NCP legislative party chief,” Patel said.
The NCP split in June 2023 after Ajit Pawar rebelled with a majority of its MLAs and subsequently assumed control of the party. In the months leading up to his death, both factions were engaged in discussions over a possible reunification. Sunetra chose to maintain silence on this issue.
Tatkare recalled how Ajit Pawar was harassed despite NCP being part of the coalition government with Congress. “Ajit dada was deputy chief minister, but an open probe was initiated against him, me and Chhagan Bhujbal,” he said, indirectly blaming Sharad Pawar for allowing the Congress to hound Ajit Pawar.
“If Ajit dada was appointed as chief minister of Maharashtra in 2004 when NCP emerged as the single largest party in the state, Maharashtra would not have missed the best chief minister,” he added, referring to a recent statement by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis that Ajit Pawar was the best chief minister Maharashtra never had.
Bhujbal alleged that the NCP (SP) leadership, despite being members of the Pawar family, failed to stand by Sunetra Pawar during the tragedy. “It would have been comforting if they had stood Sunetra vahini. Instead, attempts were made to create hindrances in her way to take control of the party. As soon as we realised this, we convinced her to take up the position.”