Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy CM, dies in plane crash in Baramati

Ajit Pawar Dies in Baramati Plane Crash During Emergency Landing

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar died on Wednesday morning in a plane crash at Baramati airport. The chartered aircraft crashed while attempting an emergency landing around 8.40 am.

The Bombardier Learjet 45 was flying from Mumbai to Baramati. The jet hit the threshold of runway 11 and immediately caught fire. Ajit Pawar, two pilots, and two security staff members died in the crash.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed the deaths in an official statement. Ajit Pawar was travelling to Baramati to address four public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections. Delhi-based charter firm VSR operated the aircraft.

Visuals from the site showed the jet completely destroyed. Fire engulfed the aircraft within seconds of impact. Debris lay scattered across the airport area. Eyewitnesses reported seeing flames and thick smoke rising from the crash site.

Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar’s Rise in Maharashtra Politics

Ajit Pawar was born on July 22, 1959, in Deolali Pravara, Ahmednagar district. He belonged to the influential Pawar political family of Maharashtra. Farming and the cooperative sector shaped his early political thinking.

He entered politics at a young age and joined the board of a cooperative sugar factory at 23. Ajit Pawar won the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in 1991. That remained his only parliamentary contest.

He later focused on state politics and won the Baramati Assembly seat multiple times. He served as an eight-term MLA from the constituency. In 1999, he joined the NCP after Sharad Pawar formed the party.

At 40, Ajit Pawar became the youngest cabinet minister in Maharashtra. He handled key portfolios such as irrigation, finance, rural development, and energy. In 2023, he split the NCP and joined the NDA, marking a major political shift.

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