2 min readMumbaiUpdated: Feb 10, 2026 10:40 PM IST
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Tuesday assumed her ministerial duties at the state secretariat Mantralaya, 13 days after the death of her husband and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, beginning her first full day in office.
Sunetra Pawar arrived in Mumbai from Pune early on Tuesday morning, accompanied by senior Nationalist Congress Party leaders and her elder son Parth Pawar. NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde were among those present.
Tuesday also marked the first state Cabinet meeting to be held after Ajit Pawar’s death. The meeting carried added significance as the state government cleared a series of decisions that Ajit Pawar had been closely following up on during his tenure.
Among the approvals was a Rs 75 crore sports complex in Baramati, a project considered close to Ajit Pawar. The Cabinet also cleared the transfer of 1,000 acres of land in Indapur to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and approved the appointment of 11 officials to the post of additional district collector.
Sunetra Pawar was welcomed at the Cabinet meeting by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Earlier in the day, soon after arriving in Mumbai, Sunetra Pawar visited the Siddhivinayak Temple along with party leaders and offered prayers. She later paid tribute to B R Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar.
She then visited the Nationalist Congress Party’s state office, where she paid homage to Ajit Pawar’s portrait in his cabin.
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After the visit to the party office, Sunetra Pawar proceeded to Mantralaya to formally assume charge. Before the cabinet meeting, she held a brief discussion with NCP ministers in the antechamber of her office.
After the cabinet meeting, she attended a meeting of legislative party leaders.
Sunetra Pawar took oath as Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister on January 31. She has been assigned the Excise, Sports, Minority Welfare and Wakf departments and has also been appointed Guardian Minister for Beed and Pune districts.
She is scheduled to visit Delhi on Wednesday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
