From Village Cleanliness Campaign to Maharashtra Deputy CM: Who is Sunetra Pawar?
Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, will be the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. She was elected the leader of the NCP legislative party at 2 PM on Saturday. She will take the oath of office at Lok Bhavan at 5 PM, becoming the state's first female Deputy Chief Minister.
A meeting of NCP MLAs and MLCs was convened at Vidhan Bhavan to elect Sunetra as the party leader. Dilip Walse Patil proposed her name.
Before taking the oath as Deputy CM, Sunetra resigned from her Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) seat. The Deputy CM post became vacant after Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28th.
Sunetra Pawar was born in Ter village in Dharashiv district. Her father was a freedom fighter and a respected figure in the village. She inherited a strong sense of social service and public welfare from her childhood. Traveling with her father to various villages and interacting with people shaped her personality.
In 1980, Sunetra married Ajit Pawar. After marriage, she moved to Baramati. When Sharad Pawar became Chief Minister, Ajit and Sunetra also lived in the Chief Minister's residence. Even while staying away from active politics, Sunetra remained actively involved in social work.
Her social work began with a village sanitation campaign. Inspired by the Sant Gadge Baba Gram Swachhata Abhiyan (Village Sanitation Campaign), she took the initiative to transform Katewadi village into a clean village. Initially, there was resistance, but her continuous efforts changed the village's landscape. Following this success, she launched the clean village campaign in 86 other villages.
For women's employment, she established a textile park in Baramati, where approximately 15,000 women are employed. She is also a trustee of Vidya Pratishthan and works on water conservation and tree plantation through the 'Environmental Forum of India' for environmental protection.