Ajit Pawar Passes Away: ‘Such Leadership Takes Many Years To Develop,’ Says Devendra Fadnavis

An airplane crash killed five people, including Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, on January 28. Reacting to this, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that this is the most difficult day for Maharashtra. The most influential politician in the state was killed in an aircraft crash at Baramati in Pune District. He was 66 years old. Ajit Pawar was accompanied by his personal security guard, an attendant, and two crew members. The VT-SSK Learjet 45 crashed near the Runway 11 threshold during landing at Baramati Airport. All five passengers died, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “This morning, a very tragic incident occurred. In extremely unforeseen circumstances, the news of the unfortunate demise of our state’s deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, in an aircraft accident reached everyone, spreading a wave of grief across Maharashtra. For Maharashtra, today is an extremely difficult day. Such leadership takes many years to develop, and at a time when he was making very significant contributions to the state’s development, his passing is both unbelievable and shocking. Personally, I have lost a strong and generous friend. This is also an enormous loss for his family.”

VIDEO | Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expresses grief over the demise of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in an aircraft crash. He says, “This morning, a very tragic incident occurred. In extremely unforeseen circumstances, the news of the unfortunate demise of our state’s deputy chief… pic.twitter.com/sKIKJ5FvRW

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 28, 2026

#WATCH | Delhi | On the passing away of his colleague Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Dy CM Eknath Shinde says," It is an unfortunate day for Maharashtra. This is a painful incident for su and whole of Maharashtra. Ajit Dada was a man of his word. We worked as a team when I was the CM,… pic.twitter.com/6eVGza16Uo

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2026

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed his grief and said, “I have lost my elder brother. With Ajit Pawar’s passing, a mountain of grief has fallen upon Maharashtra. The entire state has suffered a huge loss. No one could have imagined such a tragedy even in their dreams.” He also stated that the unfortunate accident should be thoroughly investigated.

Demand for an inquiry into the accident
“Our colleague has lost his life in this plane crash along with others on board. Therefore, this aircraft accident must definitely be investigated, and it certainly should be, because such incidents must not happen again in the future. This is necessary, and the investigation into this accident will also take place,” Eknath Shinde said.

People who were with Ajit Pawar during the Baramati plane crash:

Deputy Chief Minister: Ajit Pawar
Captain: Sumit Kapoor
Captain: Shambhavi Pathak
Bodyguard: Videep Jadhav
Cabin crew: Pinki Mali