Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar’s younger son, Jai Pawar, ruled out any move to follow his elder brother Parth Pawar to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, but stated that his mom would aim to become Maharashtra Chief Minister in 2029.
Replying to media persons who asked Jai Pawar about speculation that he might take the Rajya Sabha seat from which his mother Sunetra Pawar resigned, he clarified, “I am aware of this discussion but I will not go to the Rajya Sabha. I will work for everybody here in Baramati. People from Baramati wanted to see Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra CM, but we all hope that Sunetra Pawar should become Chief Minister in 2029”.
“Many people, including the people of Baramati, as well as NCP workers, wanted Ajit Pawar to be Chief Minister. However, due to the accidental death of Ajit Pawar, that wish remained unfulfilled. However, now NCP workers and the people of Baramati are hoping that Sunetra Pawar will fulfil the wish of Ajit Dada by becoming the Chief Minister. Sunetra Pawar will be the candidate from Baramati in 2029, and we hope that she will contest the elections as a Chief Minister candidate for the post of Chief Minister,” Jai Pawar, the younger son of Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, said.
Meanwhile, there is intense speculation about who will be sent to the Rajya Sabha through the seat vacated by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar. Ajit Pawar-led NCP workers close to Chhagan Bhujbal have been mentioning his name, though Bhujbal is Maharashtra’s Minister for Food & Civil Supplies and unlikely to move to the Rajya Sabha.
However, other names in the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, like Anand Paranjape, somebody from the N Malik family, Avinash Adik, and Vikram Kakade, are said to be eyeing the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar.
After Sunetra Pawar’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has 3 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. These 3 Rajya Sabha MPs include Praful Patel, Sunetra Pawar’s elder son Parth Pawar and Nitin Kaka Patil. Praful Patel became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2024, and his term will last until 2030, while Nitin Kaka Patil’s Rajya Sabha term will last until 2028.
Parth Pawar, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha as the Ajit Pawar-led NCP candidate in April 2026, will remain a Rajya Sabha MP until 2032.
The post of Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission is vacant following the resignation of Rupali Chakankar (Ajit Pawar-led NCP). Her resignation came after her association with arrested godman “Captain” Ashok Kharat kicked up a storm.
Several other important posts within the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, like the post of the party’s Mahila State President, lie vacant.
After Suraj Chavan was removed from the post of Ajit Pawar-led NCP youth wing president, that post has been vacant for the last 10 months.
During the Maharashtra state assembly election, Sameer Bhujbal, the nephew of Minister for Food & Civil Supplies Chhagan Bhujbal, had resigned from the post of Mumbai Ajit Pawar-led NCP president, due to which that position has been vacant for two years now.