By: peace udugba- The daily torch media
Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister of India’s Maharashtra State, has reportedly died in a plane crash along with four other people, according to the country’s aviation regulator.
The aircraft, which departed from Mumbai, crash-landed at the airport in Baramati—Pawar’s constituency and intended destination—the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. The cause of the crash has not yet been officially confirmed.
Two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew members were also killed in the incident.
Visuals from the crash site show the wreckage of the aircraft engulfed in flames, with thick plumes of smoke billowing into the air.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said he was “saddened” by the news of the crash.
“My thoughts are with all those who lost their loved ones in the crash. Praying for strength and courage for the bereaved families in this moment of profound grief,” he wrote. In a separate post, the Prime Minister paid tribute to Pawar.
Ajit Pawar, the nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar—the founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—was a prominent and influential figure in Maharashtra politics.
His political career spanned several decades, during which he served multiple terms as deputy chief minister of the state. In recent years, he split from his uncle’s party along with several lawmakers to form a separate faction, which was later officially recognised by India’s Election Commission as the NCP.
His party was part of Maharashtra’s ruling coalition alongside Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
