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The deputy chief minister of India’s Maharashtra state, Ajit Pawar, equivalent to a deputy governor in Nigeria, has died in a plane crash along with four others, the country’s aviation regulator has confirmed.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the aircraft, which departed from Mumbai, crash-landed at the airport in Baramati, a city in Pawar’s home constituency where it had been scheduled to land. The exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Among the dead were two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew members. Eyewitness footage from the scene shows the wreckage of the plane surrounded by thick smoke and flames.
Watch the video below;
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressed sadness over the tragedy in a post on X (formerly Twitter), offering condolences to the families of those killed and praying for strength for the bereaved. In a separate message, he also paid tribute to Pawar’s service.
Ajit Pawar was a senior and influential figure in Maharashtra politics. A nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Ajit Pawar’s political career spanned decades and included several terms as deputy chief minister.
In recent years, he broke away from his uncle’s party along with several lawmakers to form his own political faction, which was later recognised by India’s Election Commission as a separate NCP. His party was part of Maharashtra’s ruling alliance alongside Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party at the time of his death.
Further details about the crash and its cause are expected as investigations continue.
