2 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 4, 2026, 12:24 am
Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar will be the guardian minister of Pune and Beed districts. Her late husband and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had been responsible for these two districts.
Pune Being the home district of the Pawar family has always remained with Ajit Pawar when he was part of the state government. The tradition has also continued with Sunetra Pawar. Pawar was handling the additional responsibility of Beed in the Marathawada region.
It was the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation polls that Ajit Pawar fought against the BJP but lost. The BJP, after bagging the key Finance and Planning portfolios, now seems to have decided not to upset the newly sworn-in Deputy CM.
In the government headed by the Chief Minister Eknath ShindeNCP minister Dhananjay Munde, leader of Beed district, was the guardian minister of the district. However, things changed after the 2024 Assembly elections when Devendra Fadnavis he became the Chief Minister. Following the arrest of Munde’s right-hand man Walmik Karad in an extortion case related to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh of Massajog village, Munde was denied the guardianship ministry. Ajit Pawar was charged with the same.
After handing over all portfolios from Ajit Pawar, excluding Finance and Planning, to Sunetra Pawar, he has been given the responsibility of these two districts. The NCP is known to have its strength coming from western Maharashtra and parts of Marathwada. Pune plays an important role in the overall strength of the NCP, although it has lost considerable influence in recent years.