Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of India’s wealthiest state of Maharashtra, was killed on Wednesday after a charter aircraft carrying him crashed and burst into flames, aviation authorities said. Four other people on board, including two members of his staff and two crew, also died in the incident.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that there were no survivors. “No person on board has survived,” the regulator said in an initial statement, adding that investigations into the cause of the crash were underway.
Pawar, a senior political leader from one of Maharashtra’s most influential political families, was travelling from the financial capital Mumbai to Baramati, his family stronghold around 250 km away. He was en route to campaign in ongoing local body elections, according to media reports.
Television footage from the crash site showed thick billows of black smoke rising from burning wreckage scattered across an open field. Emergency services rushed to the area, but the intensity of the fire made rescue operations impossible, officials said.
Media reports suggested that the aircraft attempted an emergency landing near Baramati shortly before the crash. However, authorities have not yet confirmed whether technical failure, weather conditions, or other factors were responsible.
Ajit Pawar was a key figure in Maharashtra politics for decades. In 2023, he led a dramatic split from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), forming a separate faction that aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join the state government. His move reshaped the political landscape of Maharashtra and strengthened the BJP-led coalition in the state.
Political leaders across party lines expressed shock and grief over Pawar’s death, with condolences pouring in from New Delhi and state capitals. The Maharashtra government is expected to announce a period of mourning, while security has been tightened in parts of the state amid uncertainty over the political fallout.
The DGCA said a detailed probe would be conducted to establish the exact sequence of events leading to the crash, and a technical team has been dispatched to examine the wreckage.
