Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra on Thursday filed nomination for Rajya Sabha bypolls after she lost Lok Sabha election against sister-in-law and daughter of Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule from Baramati parliamentary constituency in Maharashtra. The Rajya Sabha by-election will take place on June 25.
Speaking after her nomination, she said that she will live up to the trust of the people.
"It is a matter of happiness that our party has shown faith in us, we will live up to their trust and do good work as a good public representative... Everyone has wished us luck," she said.
Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunetra Pawar's nomination
Speaking on the development, Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said, "The party's core group members have unanimously decided to give the Rajya Sabha seat to Sunetra Pawar. Several people, including me wanted that seat but after discussions, we have decided that Sunetra Pawar should be sent to the Rajya Sabha. I am not at all upset by this decision. We have taken this decision for the party..."
Earlier, the Pune unit of the Nationalist Congress Party passed a resolution demanding that Sunetra Pawar, the wife of party president and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, be sent to the Rajya Sabha and she be made a minister in the Union government.
A letter written by NCP Pune unit chief Deepak Mankar detailing these demands has been sent to Ajit Pawar, party functionaries said. The party, founded by opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar, celebrated its 25th anniversary during the day.
"Sunetra Pawar should be sent to Rajya Sabha and must be given a state cabinet portfolio (MoS) in order to give strength to the party and the officer bearers," the letter written by Mankar said.
The NCP had refused to take the offer of minister of state with independent charge in the Narendra Modi government on Sunday after reiterating that its Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel must be made cabinet minister.
The NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government. The party name and symbol was allotted to the faction led by him. Sharad Pawar now heads the group which has been christened NCP(SP).
Path cleared for Sunetra Pawar's election to Rajya Sabha
Sunetra Pawar filed her nomination for the vacant seat in the Rajya Sabha today. However, as no one else submitted a nomination by 3 in the afternoon, the path for Sunetra Pawar to become a Rajya Sabha member has been cleared. The official announcement will be made on June 18.
After the resignation of Praful Patel, the executive president of the Nationalist Congress Party, from the Rajya Sabha, a seat was vacant from the quota of the Ajit Pawar faction. Party workers expressed their joy by bursting firecrackers, and some activists even presented Sunetra Pawar with a nameplate as a Rajya Sabha member.
In the Lok Sabha elections, Sunetra Pawar contested against Supriya Sule from Baramati but ultimately Supriya Sule emerged victorious. However, Ajit Pawar has ensured that his wife, Suneetra Pawar, becomes a member of the Rajya Sabha, if not the Lok Sabha.
