04 February,2026 07:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Sanjeev Shivadekar
Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar at the Maharashtra deputy chief minister swearing-in ceremony on Saturday. PIC/ASHISH RAJE
Parth Pawar is likely to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha in place of his mother Sunetra Pawar, who took oath last week as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. However, with Parth's name linked to the controversial Pune land deal, there is a possibility that the party may instead consider other son Jay Pawar for a role in Delhi politics.
After the death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is going through major changes. Sunetra, a Rajya Sabha member, resigned from Parliament after taking the oath as deputy chief minister, stepping into the role previously held by her husband, Ajit.
According to NCP leaders, there is a strong view within the party that Parth should be sent to Delhi politics by nominating him to the Rajya Sabha seat vacated after his mother's resignation. "The party will soon meet and formally approve Parth's nomination to the Rajya Sabha," a senior party functionary said on condition of anonymity.
Parth Pawar is NCP's preferred choice for nomination
However, due to the controversial Pune land deal linked to Parth, the party is also considering the option of nominating Jay, Parth's younger brother. According to sources in the NCP camp, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said that he would extend all possible support to the party's decision.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra contested from Baramati but lost to Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Ajit's cousin. That year, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP failed to win any Lok Sabha seats except Raigad, where party state president Sunil Tatkare emerged victorious. After his wife's defeat, Ajit, in 2024, got Sunetra nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the NCP.
Parth made his electoral debut in 2019 by contesting the Lok Sabha elections. He ran as a candidate of the undivided NCP from the Maval constituency but lost to Shrirang Barne of the undivided Shiv Sena.
Now, if nominated to the Rajya Sabha, Ajit's elder son would finally enter Delhi politics, this time through an indirect route.
There is a possibility that after February 10, new Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar will visit Delhi to meet NDA leaders and may also pay courtesy visits to the president and the Vice President of India. Meanwhile, senior NCP leader Praful Patel asserted that the two NCP factions had come together only for local polls. "There were no talks of merging the two parties. All this should stop now," Patel stated. He further clarified that Sunetra Pawar will become the national president of the party. "I am certainly not becoming the party president," Patel said.
