NCP 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.
Mitkari, while talking to the media on Tuesday, said, “Ajitdada (as Pawar was fondly called) was the favourite brother of women in the state,” as cited by news agency PTI.
The NCP MLC further added, “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).”
Earlier on January 28, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed in a plane crash at Baramati in Pune district. As the news of Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash spread, thousands of party workers and supporters gathered outside the Baramati Medical College, turning the hospital surroundings into a scene of intense grief and mourning.
The supporters from Baramati and nearby areas raised cries of sorrow, expressing disbelief over the sudden loss of their leader.
Ladki Bahin Yojana was announced by Ajit Pawar
The Ladki Bahin scheme, announced by Pawar when he was the finance minister and started in July 2024, 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 assembly elections.
Earlier on Monday, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also said the government won`t stop the monthly financial assistance to women under the scheme, as it is helping them immensely, and that the aid will be increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 at the right time.
Sunetra Pawar takes charge as deputy CM
Days after Ajit Pawar’s untimely demise, his wife, Sunetra Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sunetra’s swearing in as the Deputy Chief Minister created history, as she became the first woman to hold the post in the state.
Her husband, the late Ajit Pawar, had earlier set a record by serving as deputy chief minister six times. On January 31, 2026, Sunetra Pawar was administered the oath of office by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat at Lok Bhavan (formerly known as Raj Bhavan) in Mumbai.
