03 February,2026 12:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
NCP leader Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash on January 28 at Baramati. (Pic/X)
Nationalist Congress Party legislator Amol Mitkari on Tuesday demanded that the Maharashtra government's flagship 'Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana' be renamed after late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, news agency PTI reported.
Mitkari, while speaking to the media on Tuesday, said, "Ajitdada (as Pawar was fondly called) was the favourite brother of women in the state."
The NCP Member of Legislative Council (MLC) further stated, "His wrist would be full of rakhis when he travelled across the state during his yatras. The state government would give a tribute to him if it names the scheme as the Ajitdadanchi Ladki Bahin scheme (Ajitdada's Ladki Bahin scheme)."
On January 28, Pawar, who was also the NCP chief was killed in a plane crash at Baramati in Pune district. As news of Pawar's death spread, thousands of party workers and supporters gathered outside the Baramati Medical College.
The Ladki Bahin scheme was announced by Pawar when he was the finance minister. Implemented in July 2024, the scheme provides assistance of Rs 1,500 every month to eligible women in the age group of 21 to 65 through direct bank transfer.
The scheme is believed to have played a crucial role in the victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections.
Pawar served as the deputy chief minister six times.
Following his untimely death, Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on January 31. She is the first woman to hold the post in the state.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel on Tuesday said he is not in the race to become the national president of the party following Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash last week, reported the PTI.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Patel expressed concern that people not connected with the NCP were commenting on the party's internal decisions after Pawar's tragic death in a plane crash last week.
He said the decision to elect Sunetra Pawar as the leader of the NCP legislature party was the party's right and reflected the views of its workers.
"Election of Sunetra Pawar as leader of the legislature party is our right. We will take decisions as per the sentiments of our rank and file," Patel said, according to the PTI.
Emphasising that the post of national president would be filled, Praful Patel said he himself was not seeking the position.
"I am not in the race for the president's post. It is not proper to speak on any other issue at this juncture," he said, the news agency reported.
(With PTI inputs)
