Maharashtra loses ‘Ajit Dada’: Longest-serving DyCM of state dies in tragic plane crash

BARAMATI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit ‘Dada’ Pawar died on Wednesday in a plane crash at Baramati airport, leaving behind a long career of ups and downs in politics.

According to DGCA, five people, including the crew, on board the chartered plane flying from Mumbai, Maharashtra, to Baramati died after a crash-landing at 8.45 am on Wednesday. The crash-landing of the Mumbai-Baramati charter plane occurred at the runway threshold in Baramati.

Pawar was onboard along with two more personnel (one PSO and one attendent) and two crew members. Pawar was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad elections.

#WATCH | A plane crash reported in Baramati, Maharashtra. More details awaited.

Visuals from the spot. pic.twitter.com/xkx0vtY5cp

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2026

Ajit Pawar was born on 22nd July 1959 at Deolali Pravara in Rahuri taluka of Ahmednagar district. He was known among the people as “Ajit Dada” because of his tireless striving for the people of Maharashtra and his ability to stay connected to the people and the soil.

Apart from making significant contributions to government administration, Pawar headed the management of various cooperative organisations such as milk unions and federations as well as sugar factories.

The journey of Ajit Dada’s leadership began and continued with different institutions such as milk unions, various cooperative societies, sugar factories, and banks took a new direction in 1991 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha. He would later vacate the Baramati seat for his uncle Sharad Pawar. Since then, he has held many more positions, including MLA, Minister of State for various critical government departments, and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

#WATCH | Mumbai | NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar, along with his wife, Pratibha Pawar, leaves for Baramati from their Mumbai residence, Silver Oaks. pic.twitter.com/4LseVAKflF

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2026

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 was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency and later vacated the seat for his uncle, Sharad Pawar. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly seven times from the Baramati Assembly constituency. He first won in a 1991 by-election and subsequently in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.

In November 2019, he engineered a split in the NCP and joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit Pawar.

Despite this, Ajit Pawar was known to be very close to his uncle Sharad Pawar, under whose guidance, he started his political career. In the recently held Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal elections, the two rival factions of the NCP came into an alliance and projected a united development agenda for Pune.

Ajit Pawar was famed for his straightforward approach and frankness. He is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar. (ANI)