Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of India’s Maharashtra state, has been killed in a plane crash along with four other people.
The plane he was on from the state capital, Mumbai, crash-landed in a field at the airport in Pawar’s constituency of Baramati, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Images from the site show wreckage of the Learjet engulfed in flames and plumes of smoke. The cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed and is being investigated.
Two members of his staff and two crew were killed along with Pawar, officials said. He was one of the state’s most influential leaders, governing in coalition with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Pawar had been heading to his home region ahead of local body elections when he died.
“No person on board has survived,” the aviation regulator said.
Maharashtra’s politics have been turbulent in recent years, with established parties splitting into factions. Pawar himself broke away from his uncle’s party and was part of a coalition that governed the state along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
The 66-year-old was affectionately called ‘dada’, a term for elder brother in the Marathi language, by party workers and the public.
Politicians have been expressing their shock and grief since the news broke.
Modi called Pawar’s death “shocking and saddening” and described him as a “leader of the people” in a post on X.
“His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy,” he added.
Sanjay Raut, from the state’s opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) party, said Pawar’s death was a “dark day” for Maharashtra.
“Without Dada, the political landscape of Maharashtra is incomplete. He had an open-hearted personality and every party worker admired him,” he said.
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and others have also paid tribute. Maharashtra will observe three days of state mourning.
Pawar – the nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – was a popular leader in Maharashtra, known for his shrewd political sense and witty quips.
His political career spanned decades and he served as state deputy chief minister several times. A few years ago, he broke away from his uncle’s party with several lawmakers and set up his own party which India’s Election Commission later officially recognised as the NCP.
Pawar entered politics in the 1980s, when he joined his uncle’s party.
In his early years in politics, he focused on the grassroots and built networks with workers’ unions and local co-operative banks. His people skills, political savvy and family connections helped him rise up the party’s ranks swiftly.
He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative assembly from Baramati for the first time in 1991. Over the years, he would end up being re-elected from the same constituency several times, reflecting his strong connection with voters.
Pawar has headed key ministries within different governments in the state, including agriculture and finance. He was regarded as a shrewd administrator and skilled orator, and his witty remarks and fiery speeches made headlines and landed him in controversies many times.
He has also faced corruption allegations, which he denied. In 2009, when he was the state’s irrigation minister, he was accused of awarding projects to contractors at inflated costs.
The shadow of the ‘irrigation scam’, as it was called in the local media, would dog his career for the next decade, even though he repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and never faced formal charges.
Despite this shadow, he remained central to the state’s politics, and his death will leave a big gap, fellow politicians and observers say.
By BBC News
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