Sunetra Pawar | Out of the shadows

Her gaze fixed on the floor, pallu firmly tucked over both shoulders, sadness in her eyes and a quiet demeanour. That is how Sunetra Pawar, mother of two sons and wife of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP supremo Ajit Pawar, walked into Maharashtra’s Vidhan Bhavan on Saturday (January 31, 2026). Flanked by party leaders, she strode quietly to the NCP office in Mumbai and paid floral tributes to the photo of her husband, who was killed in a plane crash on January 28. It was here that the party, which her husband formed three years ago along with several regional satraps after rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar, chose her unanimously as its leader on Saturday.

In Pictures | Ajit Pawar’s political journey

Ajit Pawar became the youngest member of the Sudhakarrao Naik Cabinet after winning a record margin of votes from Baramati. He was sworn in by the Maharashtra Governor C. Subramaniam at Raj Bhavan in June 1991.

Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister in Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s (right) cabinet in November 2010 for the first time.

Ajit Pawar seen with fellow NCP leader and his cousin Supriya Sule during Rashtrawadi Yuvati Melava in Satara, Maharashtra, in 2012.

Ajit Pawar (second from right) announced his resignation as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in Mumbai in 2012, following allegations of misappropriation of funds. He was reinstated eventually.

In this April 14, 2013, photograph, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar sits in penance, a day-long fast [Atma klesh] after using unfair language towards drought-stricken people, near Y B Chavan’s samadhi in Karad, Maharashtra.

Praful Patel offers a bouquet to Ajit Pawar, who was elected as NCP Legislative Assembly leader in October 2019.

Ajit Pawar at a rally after filing nomination at Baramati in 2019. He has been representing the Assembly constituency for a record eight times since 1991.

On November 23, 2019, when NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress were trying to stitch together an alliance, Ajit Pawar, along with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis (left) were sworn in as Deputy CM and Chief Minister by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Ajit Pawar briefly supported the BJP in 2019, but the government collapsed without adequate legislators to support. He later joined the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP in 2019.

Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray with MVA leaders Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, and Ajit Pawar being garlanded during MVA’s ‘Vajramuth’ public rally in Nagpur, in April 2023. Pawar was Deputy CM under Uddhav Thackeray for over two years.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar speaks as supporters plead for Sharad Pawar to take back his decision to step down as president during a book launch in South Mumbai in May 2023.

Ajit Pawar inaugurates the new NCP office near Mantralaya in Mumbai in July 2023.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, on July 18, 2023.

In 2023, Ajit Pawar initiated a split within the NCP, aligning with the BJP-Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena coalition. During this period, Eknath Shinde served as Maharashtra Chief Minister, with Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as State Deputy Chief Ministers from 2023 to 2024.

Mahayuti Leaders Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar celebrate during the press conference after Maharashtra Assembly election results held at the CM’s official residence in Mumbai in November 2024. The alliance won 233 out of 288 Assembly seats, marking an unprecedented electoral sweep in Maharashtra not seen since the 1980s.

Ajit Pawar takes oath as Deputy CM for sixth time during the swearing-in ceremony held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on December 5, 2024.

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Within some time, clad in a white saree, she reached Lok Bhavan to be sworn in as Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister. None of the Pawar family members, except her son, were present for the swearing-in ceremony, as they said they were not invited. For Sharad Pawar, who had once called her an ‘outsider’ in the Pawar family, the immediate concern was to take care of the grief-struck family.

She takes over the reins of her husband’s party at a time when it faces a survival crisis. There is a buzz about a possible reunification between the NCP and Sharad Pawar’s NCP SP, as the leadership within the NCP looks fragmented and directionless. Like most regional parties which are dynastic in nature, the NCP too would want a Pawar at the helm to keep it together. The debate over which Pawar should helm it and whether Sharad Pawar should now take the decision for both parties together, is yet to be settled. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar has himself said it was senior NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare who had taken decisions for their party, indicating that they were trying to keep the rest of the Pawar family out of it.

Tall task

Sunetra Pawar is a political novice, say critics, who will now try to fill in the large shoes of her late husband, who was known as an able administrator, a politician with a distinct mass appeal and captivating oratory skills. His sudden demise has turned the tripolar political combine of the ruling Mahayuti to a bipolar one. The assertive NCP, which had created its own space in the alliance, faces a tough road ahead, say critics.

So far, Sunetra Pawar had been seen only in the shadows of Ajit Pawar. She has been a Rajya Sabha MP for the past year and a half, with over 26 years of experience in social service and the educational sector. In any case, she has so far taken a subservient role, coming from a political culture where women are seen as a subsidiary support system to their ambitious men folk.

She was born and brought up in Ter village in Dharashiv in Marathwada, in a Maratha political family. Her brother Padmasinha Patil was a Minister in the State government. A Bachelor of Commerce by education, she took more interest in music, photography and painting. Friends say she has been closely involved in several rural development, education and women’s empowerment projects in Baramati for years.

“She is a sensitive, meticulous and caring person who always prioritised her children, her mother-in-law, her family and her village, taking keen interest in every small rural empowerment initiative in (Ajit Pawar’s home town of) Katewadi,” said a friend Asha Shinde.

When in Mumbai, she would love photographing the sun, the sea and nature, said friends.

She sings well, loves listening to music, loves to paint. One of her painting exhibitions was hosted in Mumbai. “Even when we would go out as friends, she would take a few audio cassettes with her. We would listen to lovely songs on our way to the trip,” said Vandana Katti, a friend of over 22 years.

Many of her close friends expressed confidence that she will be an evolved, progressive and sensitive leader who knows how to take people along. For now, the question is whether she will be able to keep her flock together and navigate the party and family relations through the most challenging phase.