Ajit Pawar: Dada’s Rise And Resurgence In Maharashtra Politics
Describing his demise as a "black day" for the state, leaders remembered Pawar as a grassroots politician, committed to public welfare and development.
Pune: Senior leaders cutting across party lines expressed deep shock and grief over the untimely death of Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP president Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash near Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday(January 28th, 2026).
Pune: Mortal remains of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar being brought to Vidya Pratishthan college ground for his funeral, at Baramati in Pune district, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)
Ajit Pawar File Pic ( PTI Photo)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, centre, and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde meet Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, to pay their condolences, in Pune. (@CMOMaharashtra/X via PTI Photo)
Ajit Pawar seen with Nationalist Congress President (NCP) Sharad Pawar during a meeting at NCP office, in Mumbai, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. (PTI File Photo)
Born on July 22, 1959, to Asha and Anantrao Pawar, Ajit Pawar followed the footsteps of his uncle (his father's younger brother), Sharad Pawar, into politics in 1982.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (PTI File Photo)
In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramati and later vacated the seat for his uncle, who then became the defence minister in P V Narasimha Rao's government. Ajit Pawar then served as Baramati MLA for eight terms from 1991.
Thane: A worker of the NCP's Ajit Pawar faction pays floral tribute to a photograph of the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the party office in Thane, Maharashtra, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 | (PTI Photo)
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.