After Ajit Pawar’s death, Sunetra Pawar appointed guardian minister of Pune and Beed districts

PUNE: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday appointed deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar as the guardian minister of Pune and Beed districts.

The move comes days after the death of her husband Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Baramati in Pune district on January 28.

Sunetra Pawar, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and widow of the late Ajit Pawar, took oath as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister at Lok Bhavan in Mumbai on January 31. She was also elected leader of the NCP Legislative Party.




The decision assumes significance as Ajit Pawar had previously served as the guardian minister of both Pune and Beed districts.

His sudden death had created a leadership vacuum in the two districts, where he played a key political and administrative role.

As guardian minister, Ajit Pawar oversaw several major development projects. He was also the principal political challenger to the BJP’s growing influence in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

(With agency inputs)