Sunetra Pawar, 62, on Saturday swore in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister replacing her late husband, Ajit Pawar who died in a plane crash three days ago.
However, the oath-taking ceremony was marked by the absence of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule. On Saturday, Supriya Sule met Ajit Pawar's mother at his Katewadi residence in Pune's Baramati area.
Sunetra's son Parth Pawar stayed back in Baramati while her younger son Jay Pawar showed up at the ceremony. Parth reportedly visited the Baramati residence of Sharad Pawar, earlier in the day, to meet the NCP (SP) chief,
While addressing a press conference earlier, Sharad Pawar revealed that he was not aware of Sunetra Pawar being sworn in as deputy CM. Parth had met Sharad after the press conference.
Many insiders and rivals have questioned the 'haste' in picking up Sunetra as NCP chief and legislature party leader and her induction as deputy chief minister.
Senior NCP leaders, including Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Chagan Bhujbal were among the leaders who attended the ceremony. Earlier in the day, the trio met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at 'Varsha', the latter's official residence in south Mumbai. During the meeting, they submitted a letter on the election of Sunetra as NCP's legislature party leader.