Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed in a plane crash in Baramati district on Wednesday morning.
Pawar was killed in the crash that took place around 8.45 am when the aircraft was landing, according to new agency PTI. The 66-year-old was onboard along with two personnel and two crew members, reported news agency ANI.
Several videos have emerged in which charred remains of the aircraft are seen at the accident site. Baramati is a traditional stronghold of the Pawar family.
Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum with Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi among the first to express condolences. “This is very shocking, painful and heart-rending. There have been differences between us, but we have worked together. He was a really committed man who kept to his work. I express my sympathies to Pawar sahab, Supriya ji,” she told news agency ANI.
In July 2023, Ajit Pawar along with his loyalists broke away from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — led by his uncle Sharad Pawar — and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra.
This is a developing story
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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