From Baramati’s cooperative corridors to Maharashtra’s power centre, the longest-serving Deputy CM leaves behind a towering, turbulent legacy
CHANDIGARH : Maharashtra woke up to shock and disbelief on Wednesday morning as Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, one of the state’s most powerful and enduring political figures was killed in a tragic plane crash near Baramati.
Pawar 66 was travelling from Mumbai in a Learjet 45XR when the aircraft veered off the runway during a second landing attempt and burst into flames around 9.12 am. All five people on board were killed.
The sudden end of Pawar’s life has sent ripples across the political spectrum, cutting short a career that spanned more than three decades and reshaped Maharashtra’s coalition politics, irrigation policy, and power equations.
Known universally as “Dada,” Ajit Anantrao Pawar was not just another politician, he was a master strategist, a relentless administrator and a product of Maharashtra’s cooperative-driven political culture.
Born on July 22, 1959, in Deolali Pravara village of Ahmednagar district, Pawar grew up amid the agrarian realities of rural Maharashtra. The son of Anantrao and Ashatai Pawar, he was drawn early into public life under the towering shadow of his uncle, Sharad Pawar. But his journey was forged as much by hardship as by heritage. After losing his father young, Ajit Pawar dropped out of college to support his family a phase he often cited as shaping his lifelong empathy for farmers and rural communities.
His political apprenticeship began in the cooperative sector. Elected to a sugar factory board in 1982, Pawar rose steadily becoming chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank in 1991, a post he held for 16 years. The experience gave him deep command over rural finance, irrigation, and development pillars that later defined his governance style.
That same year marked his electoral debut. Pawar won the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, only to vacate it for Sharad Pawar’s entry into the Union Cabinet. He then contested and won the Baramati Assembly by-election, beginning an uninterrupted winning streak that lasted till his death. For seven consecutive terms between 1991 and 2026, Baramati remained his impregnable fortress.
His ministerial ascent was swift. From Minister of State for Agriculture and Power in the early 1990s to handling heavyweight portfolios like Irrigation, Water Resources, Rural Development, Finance, and Planning, Pawar became synonymous with Maharashtra’s development machinery.
In November 2010, he was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister for the first time. Over the next 16 years, across six non-consecutive terms, Pawar would become the longest-serving Deputy CM in the state’s history working under multiple chief ministers and political alliances.
His career mirrored the volatility of Maharashtra politics. After the formation of the NCP in 1999, Pawar emerged as one of its strongest pillars. In 2019, he briefly aligned with the BJP to form a government with Devendra Fadnavis only for it to collapse within hours. He returned to the NCP fold and joined the Maha Vikas Aghadi before engineering a dramatic split in the party in 2023. Claiming majority support Pawar aligned with the NDA was recognised by the Election Commission as the legitimate NCP faction in 2024 and served as party president till his death. He was a key pillar of BJP led government in Maharashtra and played crucial role in formation of government.
As an administrator Pawar was both feared and respected. Known for marathon workdays, punctual reviews, and data-driven governance, he pushed major irrigation projects and championed rural infrastructure. His supporters credited him with accelerating development and maintaining grassroots connectivity through regular Janata Darbars.
Yet his journey was also punctuated by controversies. Allegations related to the Lavasa project, charges of massive irrigation fund irregularities in 2012 that briefly forced his resignation and a widely criticised remark during a drought protest in 2013 tested his political resilience. Each time, Pawar returned stronger, reinforcing his reputation as a survivor in high-stakes politics.
Pawar is survived by his wife Sunetra Pawar and sons Jay and Parth. Despite holding some of the most powerful offices in the state, he remained deeply rooted in Baramati, rarely distancing himself from his rural origins.
Wednesday’s crash has not only taken away a serving Deputy Chief Minister but has also closed a defining chapter in Maharashtra’s political history.
Ajit Pawar’s life encapsulated the contradictions of Indian politics legacy and rebellion, administration and controversy, loyalty and rupture. For supporters, he was a tireless “Dada” who delivered roads, water, and budgets. For critics, he symbolised ruthless power politics.
Either way, his sudden death leaves behind a vacuum that will be hard to fill.
With Ajit Pawar’s passing, Maharashtra loses one of its most formidable power brokers an architect of coalitions, a custodian of Baramati, and a politician who, till his last day, remained firmly in the cockpit of state politics.
