The deputy chief minister of India's state of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, has died in a fatal plane crash at 66.
According to Reuters, the aviation on Wednesday, January 28, announced that Pawar was killed along with four other people on board his charter plane.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the aircraft that took off from Mumbai en route to his home region crash-landed at the airport in Pawar’s constituency of Baramati.
The other four people killed in the crash included two of his staff members and two crew. The cause of the crash is not identified yet.
As per the Times of India, Pawar was on his way to attend a rally ahead of Zilla Parishad elections.
An eyewitness told the newspaper, “When we rushed to the spot, the aircraft was on fire. There were four to five more explosions. People tried to pull the passengers out, but the fire was too intense.”
The nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state government after splitting with the NCP in 2023.
The Indian PM expressed “shock” at the tragic passing of the deputy chief minister of the wealthiest state of the country.
He wrote on X, “Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots-level connection. He was widely respected as a hard-working personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra.”
“His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti,” he added.
Pawar was a big name in state politics and had a lot of influence on the rural voters. He was serving as the 8th deputy CM of the state under Devendra Fadnavis since December 2024. He was the longest-serving deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
