Ajit Pawar Plane Crash: Sunetra Pawar to be next Maharashtra deputy CM; Will take oath on THIS date

Mumbai: Following the death of NCP chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, his wife and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar will become the next Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This information has emerged from sources. Sunetra Pawarwill take the oath of office as Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday. ​​

How did the Ajit Pawar plane crash happen?

Previously, Ajit Pawar was the Deputy Chief Minister in the Maharashtra government. His plane crashed on Wednesday morning while he was en route to Baramati, killing Ajit and five others. Following this, senior NCP leaders contacted Sunetra Pawar and asked her to take on the responsibility. According to sources, Sunetra Pawar has agreed to become the Deputy Chief Minister. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on Saturday.

What did Chhagan Bhujbal say?

Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that a legislative party meeting has also been called on Saturday, where Sunetra will be made the leader. According to sources, Sunetra will get the Excise and Sports ministries, while the Finance Ministry will be handled by Fadnavis. Sunetra is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and it is being said that she may contest elections from Ajit Pawar's constituency in the future. Sunetra had contested the Baramati seat in the last Lok Sabha elections but lost to Supriya Sule.

Speaking to reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) office, Bhujbal said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that if the party's legislative party decides on this, he has no objection to the swearing-in ceremony of their Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday itself. Bhujbal said, "An NCP legislative party meeting will be called on Saturday, where Sunetra Pawar will be made the leader. Many leaders want her to become the Deputy Chief Minister."

 He said that the most important thing is to fill the vacant post of the leader of the legislative party and then the Deputy Chief Minister. The Food and Civil Supplies Minister said, "NCP senior leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare are looking into the mourning period and other finer details... Sometimes the mourning period is three days, and sometimes it's ten days." However, he also said that the final decision would be taken at the legislative party meeting.

What has the investigation revealed?

The investigation into Ajit Pawar's death has been handed over to the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). According to official sources, the Pune Rural Police were initially investigating the case. The Pune Rural Police had registered a case of accidental death under Section 194 of the Indian Penal Code in connection with the incident. The government has directed the Pune Rural Police to hand over the details and evidence collected so far to the state CID.  They stated that the state CID has begun its investigation and will examine security lapses and infrastructure-related issues at the Baramati airfield.