Mumbai, Jan 31 (NationPress) In a significant development, Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and current Rajya Sabha member, has been unanimously appointed as the NCP Legislature Party leader on Saturday. Her nomination came from party stalwart Chhagan Bhujbal and received support from Dilip Patil along with numerous other legislators.

This meeting was organized after Sunetra, still grappling with the profound loss of her husband due to a tragic plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday, agreed to accept the responsibility of leading the Legislature Party.

She is poised to make history by becoming the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, with her oath-taking ceremony scheduled for this evening at Lok Bhavan.

The state NCP president, Sunil Tatkare, will formally notify Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about Sunetra Pawar's election as the Legislature Party leader.

Following this, the Chief Minister will inform the state Governor regarding Sunetra's inclusion in the Council of Ministers. Sunetra will step down from the Rajya Sabha as she prepares to contest the Baramati Assembly seat shortly.

On Friday, Tatkare had sent out a letter to all party legislators, including 40 from the state Assembly and nine from the state council, urging their presence at the legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan.

A high-level NCP delegation met with Devendra Fadnavis on Friday morning to address various matters, including the appointment of the new Legislative Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister.

This delegation consisted of party Working President Praful Patel, state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Hasan Mushrif, and former minister Dhananjay Munde. This shift in leadership follows a notable vacuum within both the NCP and the Mahayuti government.

Meanwhile, NCP leader Sharad Pawar stated that he was not consulted about Sunetra Pawar’s ascension to the Deputy CM position. 'I had no discussions with Sunetra Pawar about this matter; I learned about the swearing-in ceremony from the morning news,' he remarked at a Saturday morning press conference.

Regarding the unification of the two NCP factions, he confirmed that discussions had been progressing positively between Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, revealing that a merger was nearly finalized and was expected to be announced by Ajit Pawar on February 12.

After Sharad Pawar expressed his unawareness of Sunetra's election as the Legislature Party leader, Parth Pawar, the son of Ajit Pawar, along with Rohit Pawar from NCP(SP), met with the senior Pawar to update him on this development.

Sharad Pawar clarified that while discussions were ongoing, he was not directly involved, as they were led by Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil. 'It was Ajit Dada’s dream for both NCP factions to unite, which was also our desire,' he noted. The unexpected passing of Ajit Pawar has now interrupted these merger talks.

The future direction will be determined by leaders from both sides. Sharad Pawar stressed that the roadmap was clear, indicating that discussions had been ongoing for four months to reunify the party. However, with the key negotiator no longer available, the process now faces considerable obstacles.