Mumbai, June 12: Sunetra Pawar’s address at the Nationalist Congress Party’s 27th Foundation Day marks a clear shift in her leadership approach, underlining an effort to consolidate control within the party amid internal churn and external scrutiny.

Stepping out from the long-standing shadow of her late husband, Ajit Pawar, her “no-nonsense” posture signals an aggressive attempt to consolidate power within a party still reeling from internal shifts and external scrutiny.

The speech reflected a transition towards a more assertive and centralised leadership style, with Pawar signalling that accountability would be performance-driven and that indiscipline would not be tolerated.

Moving past the initial phase of mourning following the tragic demise of Ajit Pawar, she is shifting into an aggressive, transactional command structure.

Historically, the NCP’s machinery relied on Ajit Pawar’s micro-management — he knew local block leaders by name and personally handled administrative bottlenecks. Sunetra Pawar knows she cannot replicate that exact style overnight. By framing the party’s survival as a performance-based metric (“pull up socks”), she is shifting accountability downward.

Sunetra Pawar explicitly stated that she would follow Ajit Pawar’s example in taking tough, uncompromising organisational decisions. This is a calculated double-edged sword. By directly invoking her late husband’s legacy of decisive, iron-fisted administration, she seeks immediate legitimacy among loyalists who might otherwise view her as a reluctant or transitional leader.

She is transitioning her image from a grieving widow to a political enforcement mechanism, especially as critics claim that the NCP is functioning under the grip of the BJP, its junior partner in the MahaYuti. By warning that she “will not hesitate to take difficult decisions,” she is setting a clear baseline that her initial period of observing and understanding internal dynamics is officially over.

A major portion of her speech focused on a strict warning against “divisive politics” and caste-based rifts, while explicitly stating that public criticism or “unnecessary interference” that damages the party’s image will face a severe backlash.

She made it clear that while she respects the seniority, she will not operate as a puppet ruler or a placeholder. By stating that she has “understood and tolerated everything until now, but will no longer,” she is drawing a strict boundary between healthy consultation and undermining her ultimate authority as the party head and Deputy Chief Minister.

While framed outwardly as a commitment to secularism and social harmony, her rhetoric acts as an internal disciplinary firewall. The NCP has faced intense public and media scrutiny regarding its political alignments and ideological consistency. Sunetra Pawar is effectively telling the veterans and office-bearers to fall in line. Her warning signals that localised rogue strategies will no longer be tolerated if they compromise the central high command.

Co-signing the strategy highlighted by senior leader Praful Patel, Sunetra Pawar urged the cadre to intensely focus on building infrastructure in urban centers ahead of the impending delimitation (the redrawing of electoral constituency boundaries). This highlights a sharp pragmatic shift.

Historically, the NCP’s core strength has heavily relied on rural agrarian networks, cooperative sugar factories, and local banking systems. Recognising changing demographics, Pawar is attempting to modernise the party’s voter base. It shows a forward-looking calculus — she isn’t just fighting to preserve her current seat; she is planning for an altered electoral map where cities will hold the ultimate veto power in Maharashtra.

Sunetra Pawar’s speech was less about celebrating a foundation day and more about asserting absolute authority. By declaring her willingness to be unpopular for the sake of the organization, she has drawn a clear line in the sand. The coming months will show whether the NCP cadre views this as a genuine strength or overcompensation.

Political observers said that Sunetra Pawar’s speech is a calculated preemptive strike against internal dissent. She has recognized that showing vulnerability or overly relying on an emotional sympathy wave will cause the NCP’s powerful regional bosses to partition the party among themselves.

By threatening a purge of the underperforming and the intrusive, she has staked everything on absolute dominance. “It is a high-risk, high-reward strategy: she will either successfully tame the party’s warring factions, or accelerate its fragmentation,” they remarked.

The water level in the dams supplying water to Mumbai has reduced. The Meteorological Department has also predicted a delayed arrival of rains. In this context, all the wells in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region should be inspected immediately and their current condition should be assessed. The silt and garbage present in the wells should be removed and cleaned. A system for recharging rainwater should be established. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed that in collaboration with local corporators, coordination should be established with housing societies in the area of ​​the wells and they should be encouraged to use water from these wells. The process of cleaning drains should continue even during the monsoon. Complaints regarding potholes should be remedied within 24 hours of receipt. Bhede also directed that radars, other materials and road blocks should be removed immediately after the completion of cement concreting of roads. The monthly review meeting of various departments of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation was held today (June 11, 2026) at the Municipal Corporation Headquarters. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr. Avinash Dhakane, Joint Commissioner (Vigilance) Dr. M. Devendra Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport) Mr. Satyanarayan Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner Office) Mr. Prashant Gaikwad were present on the occasion. Apart from this, all the Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, Heads of Departments were also present in this meeting.

Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that for proper management of water resources in Mumbai, it is necessary to restore traditional sources of water and use alternative sources. Due to increasing population and climate change, water management has become difficult. Latest information about all government, public and private wells and boreholes in Mumbai should be collected by the Assistant Commissioners of all administrative departments (wards). Their use should be ensured during the repair of wells. Private housing societies should take the initiative and use this water. Mrs. Bhide also said that the local corporator, administration and housing society should coordinate for this.

Necessary improvements should be made in engineering at accident-prone (black spot) places

All the concerned agencies should take special care that the traffic flow remains smooth and uninterrupted during the rainy season. Necessary planning and measures to avoid traffic congestion should be implemented in constant coordination with the traffic police. Accident prone (black spots) places should be identified and necessary engineering improvements should be made there immediately. Also, an effective action plan should be prepared to reduce the number and severity of accidents by determining priorities. It should be strictly implemented. Strict measures should be taken to prevent unauthorized parking on both sides of the roads. Public awareness and incentive activities should be implemented so that the public parking lots of the civic and residential municipal corporations are used to the maximum. A special campaign should be launched in collaboration with the traffic police and the transport department to remove abandoned and long-standing vehicles from the roads. Planned measures should be implemented according to the local situation to avoid traffic congestion around schools, hospitals and other important government institutions. Mrs. Ashwini Bhide directed that all the concerned departments should work in coordination to provide a safe, convenient and fast transport system to the citizens.

Planned and effective measures should be implemented to reduce flood points

Reviewing the river and drain cleaning works, Mrs. Ashwini Bhide said that 112 percent of the silt has been removed from major drains, 115 percent from small drains and about 84 percent from Mithi River as compared to the set targets. However, drain cleaning works are in progress at some places in Zone 5 and should be completed immediately. Assistant Commissioners of all administrative divisions should visit drains, storm water channels and flood-affected areas in their divisions and review the work regularly. The campaign to remove floating waste from drains should be continued without interruption and it should be ensured that the drain cleaning work continues continuously even during the rainy season. Planned and effective measures should be implemented in their respective departments to reduce ‘flood points’ (water accumulation areas). Effective coordination should be made with Metro, Railways and other concerned agencies to ensure that pre-monsoon preparations are completed in their areas of responsibility. Also, if new or artificial water storage areas have been created due to development works or other reasons, they should be removed immediately. Manhole covers on underground sewers and storm water channels should be thoroughly inspected and covers that are broken, loose or pose a threat to the safety of citizens should be replaced.

Mumbai: The strange business of Sindhudurg Kankoli Police was to convert a five-year-old murder into an accidental death and make the deceased an accused in the charge sheet, but the Mumbai Crime Branch has revived the mystery by declaring this accidental death as murder and has also claimed to have arrested four accused.

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four accused, claiming to have solved the mystery of a five-year-old murder case, which the accused had succeeded in declaring as an accidental death and the police had also declared it an accident and had made the deceased an accused in the road accident. The Mumbai Crime Branch had received information that the accused who committed the murder in Sindhudurg was residing in Mumbai, after which the Crime Branch has solved the murder case after five years. The accused had killed Ashfaq Malani in Sindhudurg in 2021, after which his accomplices threw the body into the ghat and proved the murder to be an accidental death. But later, a secret information was received that some people from Mumbai had committed the murder in Sindhudurg, on this basis, the Crime Branch took action and arrested the accused. The accused were in a dispute over money. Ashfaq was taken to Omkar Deluxe Hotel in Sindhudurg by his associates and killed. After that, the body was put in an ambulance and hidden. To prove the accident, the motorcycle was also thrown into the ghat. Along with it, the mobile phone was also recovered from there. The police found the body after 22 days and the police registered an ADR. The police had also filed a charge sheet in it, but the murder was revealed after five years. The accused have also confessed to the crime during the investigation. The accused had opened a loan office and after that, they used to collect fees from people by luring them to provide loans. In this case, the police have arrested four accused, while two accused are still said to be absconding. DCP Crime Branch Detection Nonath Dhule said that the murder was committed due to a dispute over money of Rs 1.5 to 2 lakhs. All these accused used to provide loans in the name of loan apps. During the investigation of the Crime Branch, the accused have confessed to the murder. The four accused have been identified as Manoj Narayan, Surendra Chavan, Atish Bhagwan More and Shetty. All four have been arrested and handed over to the Kankoli police, while two accused Amit Raut, Manoj Bhandari are still absconding. The DCP said that to prove this case as an accident, the accused had left all the documents including the victim’s motorcycle at the scene so that there would be no doubt that this was not an accident but a murder.