India, Jan. 31 -- Just as suspense over Maharashtra's political future after deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's death seemed to subside on Thursday, his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he was not aware that Ajit's wife Sunetra Pawar was set to succeed him.

Sharad Pawar, who was left with a faction of the NCP after Ajit took away most of the MLAs along with the name and symbol in 2023, also spoke again of a possible merger between the two factions, and said that his nephew Ajit had proposed February 12 as a tentative date for the family's political reunion.

Shortly after his claim, a video of Ajit and Sharad Pawar surfaced on social media, in which the two can be seen engaged in talks along ...