India, Jan. 31 -- Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected leader of the Nationalist Congress Party's legislature party in Maharashtra on Saturday, just three days after the death of her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

She is set to take oath later in the day as Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister, marking a significant political moment for the state.

Sunetra Pawar's name was proposed by senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. Her election took place at a meeting of the party's legislature wing held at Ajit Pawar's office on the ground floor of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai.

Ajit Pawar, who served as Deputy Chief Minister...