Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar died on Wednesday morning after a chartered aircraft carrying him crash-landed in Baramati.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), five people on board the Mumbai-Baramati charter plane lost their lives in the accident. The crash took place at around 8.45 am near the runway threshold at Baramati airport.
Ajit Pawar was travelling with two staff members, his personal security officer (PSO) and an attendant, along with two crew members. All five were on board when the aircraft attempted a crash landing. Officials said further details about the cause of the crash are still awaited.
Pawar was on his way to Baramati to attend a public rally linked to the Zilla Parishad elections. A day earlier, on Tuesday, he was in Mumbai, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and attended by Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other senior officials.
Ajit Pawar was known as one of Maharashtra’s most powerful political leaders, with a long career as a multiple-term MLA from Baramati and a key figure in state politics. His family has played an important role in the political landscape of the state for decades.
In the aftermath of Ajit Pawar’s death, focus has turned to his family, especially his sons Parth Pawar and Jay Pawar, both of whom have drawn public attention at different times while choosing distinctly different careers.