Deputy Chief Minister of India’s Maharashtra state, Ajit Pawar, has died in a plane crash, according to the country’s aviation regulator.
The aircraft, which departed from Mumbai on Wednesday, crash-landed at Baramati airport, the constituency of the late politician, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
Two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew members were also reported to have lost their lives in the incident. Authorities have yet to officially determine the cause of the crash.
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 said the aircraft was making a second attempt to land at Baramati airport when it went down. The Times of India quoted DGCA officials as saying the Learjet 45, operated by VSR, crashed around 8:45am local time.
Pawar, nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar, founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was reportedly travelling to attend a public rally ahead of district council elections.
A witness described the aftermath of the crash, saying: “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.”
Political career
At 66, Pawar was a towering figure in Maharashtra politics, rising through the grassroots cooperative movement to become the state’s second-highest elected official within the federal governing coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He commanded significant influence in the state’s sugar-producing regions and was known for mobilising rural voters and shaping local political dynamics.
News of Pawar’s death triggered widespread grief across the state. Crowds gathered outside Baramati hospital, where his body was taken, as the government announced three days of mourning.
During the mourning period, flags will fly at half-staff, government offices and schools will close, and public events will be suspended in honour of his contributions to state politics.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed deep sorrow, saying he had “no words to express my emotions”.
“I have lost my strong and generous friend,” Fadnavis wrote on social media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute, describing Pawar’s death as “very shocking and saddening”.
He was “widely respected as a hardworking personality”, Modi said, adding that “his passion for the empowerment of the poor and the deprived was particularly noteworthy”.
