‘Like an elder brother’: Eknath Shinde mourns Ajit Pawar's death

Mourning the NCP leader's demise, fellow Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that Pawar's death is a “great loss to the state”

Updated on: Jan 28, 2026, 20:55:30 IST

By HT News Desk

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The untimely death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday has left Maharashtra in a state of shock. Mourning the NCP leader's demise, fellow Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that Pawar's death is a “great loss to the state”

Eknath Shinde further said that the state government will conduct an inquiry into the plane crash. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

“He was a studious, courageous and disciplined leader with a strong command over the administration. He never hesitated to say no to schemes and projects that would have put an unnecessary burden on the state exchequer. He was like an elder brother to me,” said Shinde while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

Also Read | Massive fire, plane split on impact: What we know so far about Ajit Pawar plane crash

The Shinde Sena leader further added that he and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be leaving for Baramati. Follow LIVE updates here

All scheduled programming for both the leaders has been cancelled for the day. Shinde further told reporters that the state government will conduct an inquiry into the plane crash.

“Today, a very unfortunate and tragic incident has occurred. We went to Baramati and met the family members of Ajit Pawar. I still can't believe that Ajit Dada is not with us anymore,” Shinde told reporters.

“Devendra Fadanavis, Ajit Dada and I were working as a team. We were working together for the development of Maharashtra. It would not be wrong to say that a mountain of grief has fallen upon us... This is not just a loss to the Pawar family but to the entire Maharashtra,” he added further.

Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died on Wednesday morning after a chartered plane crashed in Pune's Baramati. Along with the NCP leader, four others on board were killed in the horrific crash.

The NCP leader was scheduled to address four election rallies in his home turf of Baramati. His appearance at rallies was scheduled for the upcoming Zilla Parishad polls in the region.

Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware told HT that the plane crashed while it was attempting to land.

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HT News Desk
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