Ajit Pawar Dies in Plane Crash: How ‘Dada’ Managed Maharashtra's Big Portfolios

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar passed away in a plane crash on Wednesday after an aircraft carrying the seasoned politician and four others crash-landed in Baramati, Pune. Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The aircraft was en route from Mumbai to Baramati and crash-landed at the destination at around 8.45 am. “The aircraft VT-SSK was attempting to land when it went off the side of the runway and crashed,” Hindustan Times reported, quoting Baramati airport manager Shivaji Taware. Along with Ajit Pawar, a personal security officer, an attendant, and two crew members—including the pilot-in-command and the first officer—were on board. As per initial information, no one survived the crash.

Who was Ajit Pawar?

Ajit Anantrao Pawar, born in 1959 in Ahmednagar, was one of Maharashtra’s most influential and enduring political figures. Aged 66, he was the nephew of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar was a key figure in the NCP split that reshaped Maharashtra’s political landscape. In 2023, Pawar and several senior party leaders split from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and joined the BJP-led Shiv Sena alliance. He subsequently became Deputy Chief Minister under the NDA government in 2024.

Dada’s career

Fondly known as Ajit Dada, he began his political journey in 1982 and rose steadily through the ranks of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), emerging as a key power centre in state politics. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1991 and later represented the Baramati Assembly constituency seven times, turning it into a formidable political stronghold.

He was inducted into the Cabinet for the first time in 1999 and served as Minister of Irrigation until December 2003 under the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. He also served briefly as Rural Development Minister from December 2003 to October 2004. In the same year, he became Minister of Water Resources and Guardian Minister for Pune district. He was elected for the fourth consecutive time as MLA from Baramati in 2009.

In 2019, he took over as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra before stepping down amid political turmoil. He later returned as Deputy Chief Minister alongside Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while holding the Finance and Planning portfolios as a cabinet minister.

Portfolios and net worth

Pawar served as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister six times under governments led by Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde. Widely regarded as a sharp political strategist and tough administrator, he held several key portfolios, including finance, planning, state excise, irrigation, sports and youth welfare, and minority development and auqaf. From 2022 to 2023, he also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Pawar played a decisive role in coalition politics and party realignments in the state. As Maharashtra’s Finance and Planning Minister, he focused on financial discipline, prioritising state revenue, curbing tax evasion, and enhancing efficiency in tax collection.

According to his latest disclosures, he had a net worth of ₹103.16 crore, with total assets amounting to ₹124.55 crore.

(This is a developing story).