‘Very shocking’: PM Modi mourns Ajit Pawar after deadly Baramati plane crash

In a post on X, Modi described Pawar as a mass leader with a strong grassroots connection.

“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,” the Prime Minister wrote.

“His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti,” he added.

The crash occurred during landing at Baramati airport, around an hour after the aircraft took off from Mumbai at approximately 8 am.

Four others on board, including the pilot and Pawar’s security personnel, also lost their lives in the accident.

Pawar, who headed his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati for a political campaign.

Visuals from the crash site showed fire, thick plumes of smoke and scattered debris of the aircraft.

Pawar was the nephew of former Maharashtra Chief Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule.