Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and chief of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) died on Wednesday morning in a tragic accident that shook Maharashtra and the country after the chartered plane he was on crashed at the Baramati Airport in Pune district.
Learjet 45 (registration VT-SSK) which is flying in the Mumbai-Baramati route crashed at around 08:45 local time as per the officials of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The incident claimed the lives of all the five people on board including Pawar his personal security officer, an attendant and two crew members.
The plane that had left Mumbai at around 08:10 am lost communication soon before it crashed. Incidentally, preliminary reports suggest that it was trying to make an emergency landing, possibly, after failing to make an initial landing, before it crashed near the runway threshold and burst into fire.
There were several small explosions, which were witnessed by the eyewitnesses as the jet went down and hit the ground and this caused a lot of smoke to rise and was well visible to those who were miles away.
Immediate Response and Crash Site
The images of the scene depicted the burnt down components of the plane on the airfield. Emergency services and firefighters could be observed fighting the heavy smoke, and people in the local village and airport employees were congregated at the entrance.
The rescue and safety exercises led to the closure of Baramati Airport to incoming and outgoing flights. An immediate DGCA team was sent to the scene to initiate technical research on the cause of the accident.
10:01 am – Confirmation of Deaths
The officials confirmed that all those on board including Ajit Pawar who was 66 were killed in the accident. This was officially announced by the DGCA, and it was also mentioned that this flight was a chartered one. Pawar was heading to Baramati to an election rally of a Zilla Parishad, having spent the day before that in Mumbai at an area meeting with Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, which was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
State and National Leadership Response
Leaders of both parties came out in shock and grief within minutes of the occurrence of the news. President Droupadi Murmu called the death of Pawar as being very tragic and a loss that cannot be filled. She admitted that he played an important part in the development of Maharashtra particularly in the cooperative sector and condoled the family and supporters.
On the national front, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah made personal phone calls to Chief Minister Fadnavis to express their condolence and get updates on the situation. The message by Modi has shown how Pawar is committed to serving the people and contributing to the development of the state, and Shah promised to support all the measures required by the Centre.
State Government Announces Mourning
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared three days of mourning all over Maharashtra in reaction to the tragedy. Every public business was suspended and a national holiday was proclaimed on the day. Fadnavis who appeared quite rattled stated that the loss of Ajit Pawar was an unprecedented loss to the state and he was a good friend and good administrator whose contribution had influenced much of the governance of Maharashtra.
Large-Scale Social Events and Cries of Emotions
By mid-morning, the original numbers had swelled to a huge number in front of the hospital in Baramati where the mortal remains of Pawar were being received. Fans, citizens, party activists, and well-wishers united and were present in vast numbers, most of them openly emotional. Condolence messages were received across all ranks of the society and people remembered the long and effective political career of Pawar.
A Political Condolence on Loss
The governor of other states also expressed their condolences. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, gave a hint of a more detailed investigation, implying that there could be some sort of conspiracy during the incident and proposed that the Supreme Court would oversee an investigation.
Tribute was paid to the legacy of Pawar by Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, who referred to him as a formidable champion of labourers, Dalits, and the oppressed, and Maharashtra lost one of its greatest progressive leaders.
In Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy CM D K Shivakumar were deeply saddened by the untimely death of Pawar recalling that he had served the people long in politics. Even BJP State President B Y Vijayendra condoled and extended his sympathies to the families of the people who died in the crash.
11:59 am – Family and Personal Information
Ajit Pawar left behind a wife ( Sunetra Pawar ) and two sons Jay and Parth Pawar. Pawar started his political career in the early 1980s by joining politics in institutions of cooperation, an aspect known to be associated with his grassroots connect and administrative abilities. In 1991, he was first elected into Lok Sabha in Baramati before resigning in the seat to his uncle, Sharad Pawar, making his assembly career in the family political legacy a sure thing.
He has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra six times under different governments including the regimes of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. His administration was characterized by a strong interest in the rural development, infrastructure, agricultural reforms and cooperative growth.
Learjet 45 – Aircraft Involved
The crashed jet was a Learjet 45XR to which VSR Ventures was a non-scheduled aircraft operator. The business jet is a mid-size jet that has a speed and comfort that can accommodate up to eight passengers with a cruising speed of Mach 0.78-0.81.
This is not the first time the aircraft was involved in an incident as a similarly operated VSR Ventures Learjet 45 had crash- landed in Mumbai in 2023 because of weather conditions, albeit causing injuries but no deaths.
Investigation Underway
The government has initiated an extensive investigation into the accident. The DGCA, together with experts in aviation safety, are investigating flight data, eyewitnesses, and analyzing maintenance and weather reports.
Also Read: Nothing Phone 4a Pro Expected With 5,080mAh Battery, 50W Charging Support
Although the reason behind the emergency landing is still being investigated, law enforcement agencies have highlighted that all the relevant measures are being taken in terms of safety.
Legacy and Political Impact
The death of Ajit Pawar is a great tragedy for the political scenario in Maharashtra. Pawar was renowned to have made key contributions towards coalitions and political alliances in the state as a result of his strategic political maneuvers. In 2019, he broke away in the NCP and joined the BJP-led administration, still remaining as deputy chief minister.
