Sunetra Pawar (PTI image)

GONDIA: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar will take over as the national president of the NCP on February 26, senior party leader Praful Patel said on Wednesday.The announcement marks the leadership transition in the Nationalist Congress Party following the death of Sunetra’s husband and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash on January 28.“After Ajitdada, we are in the process of filling the vacuum in our party. We are a separate party, and we are in the process of doing what’s right for our party. Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar will take over as the national president of NCP on February 26”, Patel told reporters.Replying to a question about the merger of the two factions of the NCP, Patel emphasised that it’s not the right time to speak about the issue.Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others were killed when a chartered plane, a Learjet 45, crashed while landing near Baramati in Pune district.