No decision yet on RS candidate to replace Sunetra Pawar: NCP minister Bhujbal

A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Sunetra Pawar resigned as a Rajya Sabha member, her party leader and cabinet colleague Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday said no decision has been taken on her replacement. Asked who could fill the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from the Nationalist Congress Party NCP, Bhujbal maintained no discussion has been held so far on replacement.

A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Sunetra Pawar resigned as a Rajya Sabha member, her party leader and cabinet colleague Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday said no decision has been taken on her replacement. Pawar (62) resigned from the Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday, two days after after winning the Baramati assembly bypoll, which was necessary for her to continue in the state cabinet. Bhujbal said her resignation from the Rajya Sabha after becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly was in accordance with rules. ''As per rules, after becoming an MLA, one has to resign from the Rajya Sabha (if he/she is a member of the Upper House). Accordingly, she submitted her resignation yesterday,'' the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Protection told reporters. Asked who could fill the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bhujbal maintained no discussion has been held so far on replacement. ''We are learning about it through the media. There has been no discussion yet (on who will replace Pawar in Rajya Sabha). At least, I have no such information,'' he said on asked about the possibility of him being the candidate. The cabinet minister insisted the issue of a successor has not been discussed within the party. Pawar, who won the bypoll from her home turf in Pune district with a record margin, submitted her resignation to Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, and it was accepted with immediate effect. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of her husband and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was the sitting Baramati MLA, in a plane crash on January 28. Sunetra Pawar had been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in June 2024, weeks after she lost the Lok Sabha poll from Baramati. Bhujbal was interested in Rajya Sabha nomination at that time.