Sipu Jha
Sunetra Pawar’s elevation as the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) marks a defining moment for the party. Her promotion was necessitated by what is arguably the NCP’s gravest crisis yet — the untimely demise of her husband and the party’s then-chief, Ajit Pawar, in a private plane crash in January.A complete political novice, Sunetra Pawar now holds all three posts that Ajit Pawar held at the time of his death — Maharashtra deputy chief minister, NCP president, and leader of its legislature party.
Sunetra Pawar
While the NCP acted swiftly to fill the three key positions that fell vacant — a move aimed at preventing any leadership vacuum — the party now enters a crucial phase of transition. The tragedy came at a time when both NCP factions were close to a formal reunion.So, with a leader now at the helm, does that close the door on a potential merger?Why NCP moved swiftly to appoint a new leaderThe NCP’s swift filling of the vacant posts drew criticism. On January 31, just three days after Ajit Pawar’s death, Sunetra Pawar assumed two of the three roles he had left behind. On February 26, two days before the one-month anniversary of the fatal crash, she was unanimously elected to the third position, as NCP chief.According to political observers, the swift leadership transition was prompted by concerns within a section of the party that Sharad Pawar, the family patriarch who co-founded the NCP in 1999 and led it for 24 years, might reassert his influence over the party following the merger. That the veteran leader was not kept in the loop about the decision — as he himself revealed — suggests there may indeed have been a strategic calculation behind the party’s move to transition to a new leader so quickly.NCP reunion off the table?The appointment of the NCP’s new president, the war of words that erupted after Ajit’s passing, and statements from both camps all point in the same direction: the merger is off.Since taking over, Sunetra Pawar has also sought to assert herself, frequently speaking about her late husband and her commitment to fulfilling the vision he had for the state.“The lifelong commitment of Ajit Pawar saheb to the development of Maharashtra and his tireless work for the people will always guide me,” she said after taking over as NCP boss.The Sharad Pawar faction, known as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), has been more explicit in ruling out a reunion, as a series of statements from their side makes clear.Ajit’s cousin Supriya Sule and nephew Rohit Pawar have stated that the merger issue ended with his passing. According to them, the matter is closed, and there is no point in discussing it further.
Now that my brother is no more, what’s the point of talking about it (the merger)?
Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) MP
Now that Ajit dada is gone, discussing this (merger) is irrelevant. For us, the merger issue ended the moment he passed away.
Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) MLA
Yet, with the leadership question settled and a reunion off the table — at least for now — the NCP has two fewer issues to worry about.The merger that didn’t happen – and the civic poll debacleThat the NCP factions were on the verge of reuniting, as revealed after the Baramati tragedy, was hardly a surprise.Several developments had already pointed to the possibility of a reunion.Despite the political split, the Pawar family had remained united, with its members frequently seen together at family gatherings. Then, ahead of the recent municipal elections in Maharashtra, the two groups even came together to jointly contest several municipal corporations. Ajit Pawar and Sunetra themselves had addressed a press conference to announce the partnership.However, the electoral union failed to deliver results — of the total 2,869 seats for which elections were held across 893 wards and 29 municipal corporations, the NCP won 167 seats, while the NCP (SP) secured 36. The results indicated a clear decline in the electoral influence of the Pawar clan.How NCP split into twoAjit Pawar’s July 2023 rebellion was not his first, but unlike the earlier one, this time it succeeded.In November 2019, after the BJP and the then-united Shiv Sena parted ways—over the latter’s demand for the chief minister’s post—he made a sudden and unexpected move: he took an early-morning oath as deputy chief minister alongside the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, who was sworn in as chief minister.However, the government lasted just 80 hours as the senior Pawar—the wily former Maharashtra chief minister—ensured that all the defectors returned to the party. Left with no choice, the nephew also returned and went on to become deputy chief minister for a fourth time, this time in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP.
Ajit Pawar
Over two years later, and nearly a year after the MVA government’s June 2022 collapse, Ajit revolted again, joining the coalition led by the BJP and the Shiv Sena faction headed by Eknath Shinde, which was then governing Maharashtra. He was made deputy CM for a fifth term.This time, the split held. The Election Commission of India later recognised Ajit Pawar’s faction as the “real” NCP, while the other faction came to be known as NCP (SP).He returned for a sixth and final term, following the alliance’s landslide win in the November 2024 state assembly polls.What next for NCPWith no uncertainty lingering whether on the leadership or reunion front, Sunetra Pawar can now focus on settling into her new roles, learning the political ropes from senior leaders in the NCP and gradually carving out her own space within the party organisation.Currently a Rajya Sabha MP, she has six months to secure election as a Maharashtra MLA or MLC to continue as deputy CM. The election is expected to be largely a formality, as she is likely to contest from Ajit’s Baramati assembly constituency and is widely expected to win by a large margin.She will also face the challenge of strengthening the NCP electorally, particularly given its lacklustre showing in the civic body elections. Even in Pune — a city where the Pawars hold significant influence — the party managed only 37 seats in the 165-member civic body, while the NCP (SP) performed even worse, winning just three. In the 128-member Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, also a former Pawar stronghold, the NCP won 37 seats, and the NCP (SP) failed to open its account. She now has the task of living up to both her family’s legacy and her late husband’s contributions, balancing the weight of the Pawar name while carving out her own space in the NCP and in Maharashtra politics.
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