Sunetra Pawar formally takes charge as Maharashtra’s Dy CM

Ten days after being sworn in as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Sunetra Pawar on Tuesday formally took charge of her office at Mantralaya, the state secretariat in Mumbai, marking a significant moment in the state’s political history.Sunetra Pawar is the first woman to hold the post of deputy chief minister in Maharashtra. She has been entrusted with multiple key portfolios, including State Excise Duty, Sports and Youth Affairs, Minorities Development, and Aukaf.
Sunetra Pawar (62) is the wife of former deputy chief minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in his hometown Baramati in Pune district on January 28. Following the tragedy, she was unanimously elected leader of the NCP legislature party on January 31 and was sworn in as deputy chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat in Mumbai the same day.Soon after taking oath, Sunetra Pawar left for Baramati, where she remained with the family during the mourning period. She also visited Karad in Satara district to pay tributes to late Yashwantrao Chavan and later called on the family of late Constable Vidip Jadhav, the personal security officer of Ajit Pawar, who also lost his life in the crash.
The 13th-day rituals of Ajit Pawar were held in Baramati on Monday. Later that evening, Sunetra Pawar departed for Mumbai and, en route, visited Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar is undergoing treatment for a throat infection and breathing-related issues.She reached her official residence, Devgiri bungalow, around midnight and began her first full day of official engagements on Tuesday morning by paying tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi in Mumbai. She then visited the Siddhivinayak temple to seek blessings.From there, Sunetra Pawar proceeded to Nariman Point, where she visited the NCP state headquarters. She was accompanied by NCP working president Praful Patel and the party’s Maharashtra unit president Sunil Tatkare, before heading to Mantralaya to formally assume charge of her office.