Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), died on Wednesday after the aircraft he was travelling in crashed while attempting to land at Baramati in Pune district, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed. He was 66.
According to preliminary reports, the aircraft was carrying six passengers, including Pawar, along with his security personnel and the pilots. All those onboard were killed in the crash. The DGCA has ordered a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
Born on July 22, 1959, Ajit Anantrao Pawar was one of Maharashtra’s most influential political leaders and a dominant force in state politics for over four decades. Popularly known as “Dada”, he was widely respected for his strong grassroots connect and deep influence in cooperative institutions, banking, and agriculture, particularly in the Baramati region.
Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, having held the post non-consecutively for six terms under different governments. Over the years, he served in the cabinets of chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, handling key portfolios such as Irrigation, Water Resources, Finance, Rural Development and Planning.
He began his political journey in 1982 through cooperative institutions and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 from the Baramati parliamentary constituency. He later vacated the seat for his uncle, Sharad Pawar, who went on to become the Defence Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government. Ajit Pawar subsequently won the Baramati Assembly seat seven times, cementing his position as one of the most powerful regional leaders in the state.
In 2019, Pawar briefly aligned with the BJP to form a short-lived government before returning to the NCP and joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. In July 2023, he split the NCP and joined the BJP-led Mahayuti government, becoming Deputy Chief Minister alongside Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis. This move led to a formal division of the NCP, with Pawar’s faction later recognised by the Election Commission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over Pawar’s death, describing him as a “leader of the people with a strong grassroots connect.”
“His untimely demise is extremely shocking and saddening. My condolences to his family and countless admirers,” the Prime Minister said.
Ajit Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP, and their two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
According to his latest election affidavit, Pawar had declared assets worth over ₹124 crore, with liabilities of around ₹21 crore. In 2021, properties linked to him and his family were provisionally attached in a benami property probe. However, in 2024, an appellate tribunal cleared him of all allegations, citing lack of evidence, and ordered the return of the attached assets.
With his sudden death, Maharashtra has lost one of its most powerful and polarising political figures, leaving a significant void in the state’s political landscape.
