Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Sunetra Ajit Pawar will oversee the state excise department, sports and youth welfare, and minority development and Aukaf, following the approval of her portfolio by Governor Acharya Devvrat. Notably, the allocation does not include the finance and planning ministries, which were previously managed by the late Ajit Pawar, signalling a shift in key responsibilities.
The governor’s approval, conveyed in a letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis dated January 31, 2026, formalises the distribution of these ministries to Sunetra Pawar, who assumed office on Saturday.
Sunetra Pawar becomes Maharashtra`s first deputy CM
Sunetra Pawar made history as the first woman to hold the post of Maharashtra Deputy CM. She replaced her husband, Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, other Bharatiya Janata Party ministers, and senior leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, including Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, and Chhagan Bhujbal.