Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and three others lost their lives on Wednesday morning after the aircraft they were travelling in crashed while landing in Pune district, officials told PTI. The crash occurred in the Baramati area of Pune as the plane was attempting to land. According to ANI, Pawar, who was also the Nationalist Congress Party chief, was on board a chartered aircraft and was en route to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad elections.

In what became his final social media message, Ajit Pawar paid tribute to freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary. In the post shared on X, formerly Twitter, Pawar praised Rai’s dedication to India’s independence and described him as a symbol of patriotism whose legacy would continue to inspire generations. Lala Lajpat Rai later died in 1928 after sustaining severe injuries during a police baton charge while leading a protest against the Simon Commission in Lahore.

Ajit Pawar was a veteran leader in Maharashtra politics and among the longest-serving deputy chief ministers of the state, a fact that earned him the nickname “forever Deputy CM” from critics. His political career began in 1982 with his election to the board of a sugar cooperative. Over the decades, he became a key figure in the state’s political and cooperative sectors, handling major portfolios such as irrigation, finance, and water resources.

He entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1991 and represented the Baramati constituency for several terms. In 2019, he briefly aligned with the BJP to form a government that lasted only three days, before later serving as Deputy Chief Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and joining the Shinde-BJP alliance in 2023. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the NCP name and symbol to his faction.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from The Economic Times.