Who is Sunetra Pawar? Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister

Sunetra Pawar scripted history on Saturday as she entered Maharashtra’s political history books as the state’s first woman Deputy Chief Minister, marking a dramatic transition from a life largely spent outside frontline politics to the very heart of power.

A Rajya Sabha MP and a long-time presence in social work around Baramati, her rise follows the vacuum created by the sudden death of her husband and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar.

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Her elevation as the state’s Deputy CM and the head of the breakaway NCP faction earlier spearheaded by her husband is being watched closely for what it signals about the NCP’s internal dynamics.

Sunetra Pawar's political entry

Despite belonging to one of Maharashtra’s most influential political families, Sunetra Pawar remained away from electoral politics for decades.

That changed in 2024, when she was fielded by the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP as its Lok Sabha candidate from Baramati, a constituency synonymous with the Pawar legacy.

The contest, fought against her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, became a proxy battle for control within both the family and the party. Sunetra Pawar lost the election, but her political journey had unmistakably begun.

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Soon after, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, giving her a formal role at the national level. Since taking oath, she has maintained a steady parliamentary presence, participating in debates and committee work, even as she kept a relatively low public profile.

Her potential move to Mantralaya now represents a sharp acceleration in her political trajectory, placing her at the centre of governance during a sensitive transition period for the NCP.

Education and family

Born in 1963 in what is now Dharashiv district, Sunetra Pawar grew up in a politically aware Maratha household.

Her father, Bajirao Patil, was an active local leader, while her brother, Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, emerged as a prominent figure in district politics during the 1980s.

This early exposure to public life shaped her understanding of power, administration and grassroots engagement.

She earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from S B Arts and Commerce College in Aurangabad in the early 1980s.

In 1985, she married Ajit Pawar, a union that linked her to the influential Pawar family but did not immediately draw her into electoral politics. F

Social work

Sunetra Pawar’s public identity for much of her life has been rooted in social intervention rather than political mobilisation.

In and around Baramati, she became closely associated with sanitation, water conservation and women-centric initiatives.

One of her earliest and most cited efforts was in Katewadi village, where she spearheaded cleanliness drives that eventually helped the village gain national recognition as open-defecation free and later as a model eco-village.

She has also played a key role in the Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park, a large industrial project employing over 15,000 workers, most of them women from rural backgrounds.

Beyond industry, she founded the Environmental Forum of India, promoting organic farming and sustainable village models, and has been involved with educational institutions under Vidya Pratishthan, overseeing systems that cater to tens of thousands of students.

Her work in environmental conservation, water management and women’s empowerment has earned her multiple awards, including recognition as a “Green Warrior.”

As she prepares to assume a constitutional role of unprecedented visibility, these initiatives are likely to form the backbone of her political narrative - one that blends social activism with power politics at the highest level in Maharashtra.