Ajit Pawar death news: Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday. His co-deputy CM Eknath Shinde remembered him and said that he was like “an elder brother to him”. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also reacted to the death.
His wife Sunetra Pawar and his sister Supriya Sule are heading to Baramati.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadanvis to get details and updates on the situation.
PM Modi calls Pawar’s death ‘deeply shocking’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash was untimely and deeply shocking. In a post on X, Modi described Pawar as a leader of the people who had a strong connection at the grassroots level.
“Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra.
Ajit Pawar’s brother reacts
Ajit Pawar’s brother Shriniwas Pawar told HT, “Its very sad moment for us. No one survived the crash. My son Yugendra is in the hospital at Baramati. We are all headed to Baramati. The last rites will be in Baramati.’’
How did Ajit Pawar die?
The mishap happened in the morning when Ajit Pawar was arriving in his hometown to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad polls.
Pawar was heading to Baramati to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections when the incident occurred.
Sharing details of the plane crash, Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware told Hindustan Times, “The aircraft VT SSK was attempting a landing, and the aircraft went off the side of the runway and crashed.” He said the aircraft was a Learjet 45 that had been chartered from Mumbai.
Who else was on board with Ajit Pawar?
According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), four people were present inside the aircraft, apart from deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
Pilots Sumit Kapoor and Shambhavi Pathak accompanied Pawar on his Lear jet 45, VT-SSK aircraft which crashed in Baramati.
Mumbai PSO HC and Pawar’s security staff Vidhit Jadhav along with flight attendant Pinky Mali were also on board the aircraft.
Ajit Pawar’s legacy
Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving deputy chief minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.
Ajit Pawar entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency and later gave up the seat for his uncle, Sharad Pawar. He has won the Baramati Assembly constituency seven times. His first victory came in a 1991 by-election, followed by wins in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
Source: Hindustan Times
