Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Dies After Plane Crash Near Baramati

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others died after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Pune district on Wednesday morning (January 28, 2026).

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the incident occurred when the aircraft attempted to land in Baramati. The crash left no survivors, officials said to ANI.

The aircraft involved was a Learjet 45, operated by Delhi-based charter company VSR, the aviation regulatory body confirmed. Further details on the cause of the crash are awaited.

Ajit Pawar was among Maharashtra’s longest-serving Deputy Chief Ministers, having held the post non-consecutively for six terms under multiple governments, including those led by Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde.

Born in Deolali Pravara in Ahmednagar district, Pawar was the son of Ashatai Pawar and Anantrao Pawar, and the nephew of Sharad Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a four-time former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

He entered politics in 1982, following in his uncle’s footsteps. In 1991, he became the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank, a position he held for 16 years.

That same year, Pawar was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency, a seat he retained for multiple consecutive terms in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.

Meanwhile, leaders from across party lines have expressed grief over Ajit Pawar’s sudden demise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and many other leaders mourned the loss and paid tribute to his public life.