Senior Nationalist Congress Party leaders met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday to discuss a successor to late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, amid indications that his wife Sunetra might step into the role. “Ajit Dada was our leader and the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. The position needs to be filled at the earliest, and we have discussed this with the chief minister,” NCP Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel told reporters in Mumbai. Before meeting Fadnavis, NCP leaders had held preliminary discussions with Sunetra — a Rajya Sabha member — after Ajit’s cremation on Thursday. The Sharad faction was given a new symbol, the “tutari” (trumpet).

Source: The Telegraph January 31, 2026 07:05 UTC