MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday unanimously elected Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar as the party's national president, a month after the death of her husband Ajit Pawar, who held the position earlier.
Sunetra Pawar will be the first woman to lead the party. She was elected at the party’s executive body meeting held at Worli Dome on Thursday evening. The meeting was attended by senior office-bearers and representatives from various states.
NCP national working president Praful Patel proposed Sunetra Pawar's name as the national president, and later it was seconded and supported by Sunil Tatkare.
Addressing NCP workers, Sunetra Pawar said, "I will not leave behind any section of society in development. I will take along all sections of society and work for them. Ajit Dada has worked for Maharashtra and its development, and the same work will be carried forward without any break. Each person at the party is the national president. We have to expand our party and need to work hard to get back the national status for our party.”
She further said that even though the state government introduced the Ladki Bahin – dear sister scheme, its job does not end here. She said the government has to take it to every woman who deserves the benefits under this scheme.
"We have to follow the dream of Ajit Dada, who worked for farmers until his last breath. We have to take forward Shardabai Pawar's (Sharad Pawar’s mother) legacy," Sunetra Pawar said.
In a recent cabinet allocation, she was assigned state excise, sports, and minority development portfolios. She has also been appointed Guardian Minister for Pune and Beed districts.
At the meeting, Praful Patel nominated Parth Pawar -- the son of Sunetra Pawar -- as the party's Rajya Sabha candidate and asked all 40 MLAs to cast their vote for him in the Rajya Sabha election.