Ajit Pawar plane crash: Sharad Pawar sees no conspiracy in Ajit's death, 'don't bring politics into it'

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed after the plane he was travelling in crashed near the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district.

Ajit Pawar plane crash: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash after Bombardier Aerospaces' Learjet 45 crashed he was travelling in crashed during landing attempt in Baramati, near Pune district. The 66-year-old leader’s death has not only left a vacuum in the BJP-led state coalition government, but also cast a shadow on the future of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which he headed.

Follow latest updates related to Ajit Pawar's funeral here.

His uncle and NCP founder, Sharad Pawar, has said the plane crash was an accident which shouldn't be politicised. Meanwhile, tributes have started pouring in and supporters gathering in Baramati, ahead of the funeral on Thursday. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde, earlier in the day, arrived in Baramati and met Sunetra Pawar, wife of the Ajit Pawar, and paid their respects.

Meanwhile, civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu has said that the initial report suggests that the visibility was poor when the aircraft attempted landing in Baramati. A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board has left for Baramati to examine the site and begin the probe into the crash, a spokesperson from the ministry of civil aviation said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced a three-day state mourning over his death and said that he and deputy CM Eknath Shinde are heading to Baramati.

Tributes have poured in from several leaders, including PM Modi, home minister Amit Shah, Pawar's co-deputy CM Eknath Shinde and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

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.

Ajit Pawar's funeral on Thursday; PM Modi, Shah likely to attend

The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati, Pune district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 am. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has declared a public holiday on Wednesday and announced a three-day period of state mourning.

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.

Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Rahul Gandhi react

Speaking to reporters, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde are heading to Baramati, and that the further course of action will be decided after speaking with Ajit Pawar’s family.

He also announced a state mourning of three days over Ajit Pawar’s death. Today has also been declared a holiday in the state to mourn the loss.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde said on Wednesday that the death of his fellow Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was tragic and regrettable. He added that the aircraft crash that took Pawar’s life will be investigated.

While speaking to the media, Shinde praised Pawar’s work, noting that they had served together in different cabinets and that Pawar was also his deputy when Shinde led the government from 2022 to 2024.

LoP in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi expressed sorrow over the death of Ajit Pawar and four others who were on board the chartered flight from Mumbai to Baramati that crashed earlier in the day.

"The news of the demise of Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Ji and his fellow travellers in an airplane accident today is extremely heartbreaking. In this moment of grief, I stand with the people of Maharashtra. I extend my condolences to the entire Pawar family and their loved ones during this hour of sorrow," the Lok Sabha LoP wrote on X.

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.

All about Learjet 45

Pawar was flying onboard an civil aircraft that has had a patchy track record. The plane, according to the DGCA, was Learjet 45 model with registration number VT-SSK and crashed at Baramati Airport in Pune at 8:45 am on Wednesday.

Attention has turned to a 2023 aviation accident involving the same aircraft model: the Bombardier Learjet 45XR.

It's important to note that while the make of the aircraft was the same, the 2023 runway incursion in Mumbai involved a different small jet. Pawar was travelling in a Learjet 45 aircraft with the registration label VT-SSK. The aircraft involved in the earlier accident had the registration lable VT-DBL.

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.

He 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.