Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, 66, died in a plane crash in Pune district on Wednesday morning after the aircraft carrying him went down while attempting to land at Baramati Airport. Four other people on board were also killed in the accident. The aircraft reportedly lost control during the landing process, crashed near the airport and caught fire soon after impact.
According to information,the aircraft was carrying the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader along with his personal security officer, an attendant, and two crew members. Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to his home turf of Baramati and had left the state capital around 8 am. He was scheduled to address four election rallies in the region ahead of the upcoming local body polls. The crash occurred at around 9 am, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock over the “untimely” death of the Maharashtra deputy chief minister and extended condolences to his family and supporters. In a post on X, the Prime Minister described Pawar as a “leader of the people” with a strong connection at the grassroots level. He said Pawar was widely respected for his hardworking nature, deep understanding of administrative matters and commitment to empowering the poor and underprivileged. Calling the loss shocking and saddening, Modi conveyed his sympathies to Pawar’s family and admirers.

Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra. His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and… pic.twitter.com/mdgwwGzw4R

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 28, 2026

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft was making a second approach to Baramati Airport when it crashed. The aircraft involved was a Learjet 45, operated by VSR Ventures. A senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that there were five people on board, including Pawar, his security personnel and the two-member flight crew comprising the pilot-in-command and the first officer.
Ajit Pawar was born on July 22, 1959, in Deolali Pravara, a village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. His father, Anantrao Pawar, worked at the well-known Rajkamal Studios in Mumbai. Pawar’s education was interrupted following his father’s death, and he completed his studies up to the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) level from the Maharashtra State Board. His uncle, Sharad Pawar, had already emerged as a prominent Congress leader by 1982, the year Ajit Pawar was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory at the age of 23.Ajit Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar, daughter of former Maharashtra minister Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, and their two sons, Jay Pawar and Parth Pawar.