Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, is set to take over as the Deputy Chief Minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar's uncle and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said the decision was taken by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Pawar family was not consulted on the matter.
NCP chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash at Pune's Baramati airport on Wednesday.
Asked whether he has been kept out of the process of selecting Ajit Pawar's successor, Sharad Pawar said, "I don't know."
The veteran leader's comments reveal a clear divide between politics and family. In July 2023, Ajit Pawar left his uncle's side and chose his own political path. His party, the NCP, joined the BJP-led alliance.
Sharad Pawar has distanced himself from the recent political activity, claiming that he only came to know about the planned swearing-in ceremony on Saturday evening through the media.
When asked whether any of the Pawar family would attend the press conference in Baramati, Sharad Pawar said, "We don't know anything about the oath-taking ceremony. We came to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the oath-taking ceremony."
NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade said on Friday that Ajit Pawar wanted to gift Sharad Pawar with a 'reunion' of the two divided parties on his birthday on December 12. But the merger was not possible at that time.
According to Kakad, Ajit Pawar had requested him and senior leaders like Vitthal Seth Maniar and Srinivas Patil, with whom Sharad Pawar has close ties, to mediate in the settlement.
Recalling his discussions with Ajit Pawar, Kakade said, "He said, 'You have a good relationship with Saheb (Sharad Pawar). Please talk to him. See how the two sides of the NCP can come together again.'"
Ajit Pawar had said that they were supposed to unite on December 12, but it didn't happen. However, they will unite after the elections. Kakade lamented, "Unfortunately, he could not fulfill that wish."
When asked about the merger of the two parties, Sharad Pawar said that Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil were present during the discussions. Now Jayant Patil will take the final decision on this matter.
NCP chief Ajit Pawar was on his way from Mumbai to Baramati on Wednesday when a small aircraft (Learjet 45) owned by 'VSR Ventures' crashed while attempting to land for the second time.
Apart from Ajit Pawar, there were other passengers on the plane at the time. They were pilot Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, Ajit Pawar's personal security officer Bideep Yadav and flight attendant Pinky Mali. All five lost their lives in the accident.
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