Baramati: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday.
Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 zilla parishad elections.
An official said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team will visit the crash site and investigate the accident. The dead include two crew members, he added.
According to Flight Radar, the Learjet aircraft, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and disappeared from radar around 8.45 am. The aircraft crashed at 8.50 am, a police official said.
There were five passengers, including Pawar, his Personal Security Officer and an attendant, along with two crew members (pilot in-command and the first officer) on board when aircraft crashed, a DGCA official said.
Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. “People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital,” he said.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha and two sons, Parth and Jay.
His Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in alliance with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders cutting across party lines from all over the country expressed grief over Ajit Pawar’s demise.
In a post on X, Murmu said Pawar will always be remembered for his special contribution to the development of Maharashtra, especially in the cooperative sector.
PM Modi said Ajit Pawar was a leader of the people with a strong grassroots level connect and his death in the plane crash was untimely and very shocking.
Amit Shah, in his condolence message, said Ajit Pawar’s demise is a personal loss not only for the NDA family but also for him.
Modi and Shah also spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to enquire about the incident.
Fadnavis described Ajit Pawar’s tragic death as unbelievable, and said he had lost a good friend.
Ajit Pawar’s death has left a void that will never be filled, he said. “After working closely together, it is unbelievable that he is no more,” Fadnavis told reporters.
He described Pawar as a people’s leader who knew the state well and had a deep understanding of the issues in Maharashtra. He said it takes several years to build and establish such leadership.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also described the death of his colleague as sad and unfortunate, and said the aircraft accident will be probed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that despite choosing a different path and joining the BJP-led NDA, Ajit Pawar did not let their relationship break.
According to an eyewitness, the ill-fated aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar appeared “a bit unstable in the air” and exploded the moment it crashed on the ground.
Another person who witnessed the incident said that after the crash, the aircraft burst into flames, followed by four to five consecutive blasts.
The Maharashtra government declared a three-day state mourning till January 30, during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings.
There will be no official entertainment during the mourning period.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar visited the Baramati airport and also the medical college where Ajit Pawar’s body was taken from the crash site.
The NCP founder’s daughter Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha member from Baramati, appeared inconsolable over her cousin’s tragic demise.
A source close to the family of Ajit Pawar said his last rites are likely to be performed at the Vidya Pratishthan ground at Baramati later in the day.
An official statement said Baramati is an uncontrolled airfield and traffic information is provided by the instructors/pilot from the flying training organisations at Baramati.
“As per the statement of the person manning the ATC following are the sequence of events: On 28th January 2026 the aircraft VI-SSK first came in contact with Baramati at 0818 IST. The aircraft’s next call was at 30 NM inbound to Baramati and they were released by Pune approach. They were advised to descend in Visual Meteorological conditions at pilot’s discretion.
“The crew enquired about the winds and visibility and they were informed that the winds were calm and visibility was around 3000 mts,” the statement said.
