India, Jan. 31 -- Maharashtra's political landscape, already altered by the sudden death of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar earlier this week, witnessed a whirlwind of developments on Saturday as his widow, Sunetra Pawar, succeeded him.

Before Sunetra was sworn in as the state's first woman deputy CM, Ajit's uncle Sharad Pawar - patriarch of the political family and founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - dropped a bombshell, claiming that a merger of his faction and Ajit-led NCP was to happen on February 12.

A video claimed to be of a "final" meeting between the uncle-nephew and other top leaders added to the suspense and claims.

The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar and some other Congress leaders three decades ago, was split i...