The ashes of former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a chartered plane crash on January 28, were immersed in the Triveni Sangam here on Sunday. His son Jay Pawar performed the rituals and carried out the immersion according to Hindu traditions.
Jay appeared emotional throughout the ceremony and did not speak to anyone, including the media. The Pawar family had arrived in Prayagraj from Pune in a chartered aircraft at around 11am on Sunday. Jay stepped out of the airport barefoot, holding the urn containing his father’s ashes. A long convoy escorted the family from the airport to the VIP ghat at the Sangam, where BJP and NCP leaders were also present.
Before the immersion in Prayagraj, a ‘Padyatra’ carrying Ajit Pawar’s ashes had been organised from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The march, led by Dheeraj Sharma, national president of the Nationalist Youth Congress, passed through 12 states and concluded at the Sangam on Sunday.
Sharma said that these were deeply emotional moments for the Pawar family and for lakhs of party workers. He added that Ajit Pawar was not only an important leader in Maharashtra but also a respected national figure.
Ajit Pawar died last month when the chartered plane he was travelling in crashed and caught fire while attempting to land at the Baramati airport. Five others, including two pilots, a female crew member, and a security guard, also died in the crash. After his death, his wife Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister on January 31.
{{/usCountry}}Ajit Pawar died last month when the chartered plane he was travelling in crashed and caught fire while attempting to land at the Baramati airport. Five others, including two pilots, a female crew member, and a security guard, also died in the crash. After his death, his wife Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra’s first woman deputy chief minister on January 31.
{{/usCountry}}The Pawar family stayed at the Sangam for nearly two hours, during which priests performed the rituals, prayers, and havan even as the city from the airport to the ghat had been lined with posters paying tribute to “Ajit Dada.”
After the immersion ceremony, the family returned to the airport. An NCP leader present at Sangam said that after earlier immersions in Haridwar and Kashi, the final rites in Prayagraj included a ‘shanti path’ and havan as part of tradition.