Mumbai: Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar is expected to be sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday, replacing her late husband, Ajit Pawar, in the state cabinet following his death in an aviation accident earlier this week.

The appointment, confirmed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sources on Friday, marks a milestone for the state; Sunetra Pawar will be the first woman to serve as Deputy Chief Minister since the office was established during the transition to coalition governance in 1978.

The decision to elevate the 62-year-old lawmaker came after senior NCP leaders and family members reached a consensus in the wake of Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash near Baramati on Wednesday. The move effectively signals the party’s commitment to the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP and Shiv Sena, and appears to postpone any immediate merger with the rival NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar.

"Tomorrow (Saturday), a parliamentary board meeting of the party will take place in Mumbai, where Sunetra Pawar will be elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party," a source familiar with the developments said. She is expected to be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister by this evening.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed the BJP's support for the transition during a press briefing in Nagpur, noting that the ruling alliance would back the NCP’s internal selection.

"The NCP will take whatever decision it has to take for the post of deputy chief minister, and the government and the BJP will support the decision," Fadnavis said. "I can only tell you that we are standing behind the family of Ajit Dada and the NCP."

Sunetra Pawar, who previously maintained a low public profile, entered the political spotlight during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Though she lost a high-stakes contest for the Baramati seat to her sister-in-law, Supriya Sule, she was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

State minister Chhagan Bhujbal confirmed that the NCP's legislature wing would meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at Vidhan Bhavan to formally name her as their leader. Bhujbal noted that Fadnavis had indicated no objection to holding the oath-taking ceremony the same day, provided the party's internal processes were finalised.

"Many leaders want her to become the deputy CM," Bhujbal told reporters.

The leadership change comes at a sensitive time for the party, whose assembly strength dropped to 40 following the death of Ajit Pawar, the long-time MLA for Baramati. While talk of a reunification between the two NCP factions had gained momentum in recent weeks, party insiders suggest that filling the constitutional vacuum left by the Deputy CM's passing has become the immediate priority, placing merger discussions on the backburner.

With inputs from PTI