Baramati: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s last rites were performed at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati. His sons, Jay and Parth Pawar, lit the funeral pyre in the presence of high-ranking officials and thousands of supporters.
A sea of supporters and political leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, paid last respects. Ajit Pawar and four others died in a plane crash in Baramati town in Maharashtra on Wednesday morning, leading to serious concerns about the flight operator and the condition of the airstrip.
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28 Jan 2026
The final rites of the NCP President took place at the grounds of Vidya Pratishtan, an education institute set up by the Pawar family, with full state honours on Thursday.
Large crowds, including party workers from Baramati and other parts of the state, were present to pay their last respects to the late leader.
‘Ajit Dada amar rahe’ chants echo at funeral
Thousands of people gathered for Ajit Pawar’s last rites chanted “Ajit Dada amar rahe” after his funeral pyre was lit at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati.
Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, former Union Minister Sharad Pawar and BJP President Nitin Nabin attended the funeral of the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati, about 100 km from Pune.
Black Box of Learjet 45 aircraft recovered
The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. A Black Box is a small device that records information about an aircraft during its flight. It helps in the investigation of aviation accidents.
Born on July 22, 1959 to Asha and Anantrao Pawar, Ajit Pawar followed the footsteps of his uncle Sharad Pawar into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a sugar factory.
In 1991, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramati and later vacated the seat for his uncle who then became Defence Minister in P V Narasimha Rao’s government. He then served as Baramati MLA for eight terms from 1991.
He became the State’s Deputy Chief Minister for a record six times under Chief Ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. He is survived by his wife, Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar, and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
