Veteran Indian Politician Among 5 Killed in Plane Crash

Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra State, was on board a charter jet that crashed as it was coming in to land.Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, in Pune, India, in 2024.Credit...Atul Loke for The New York TimesJan. 28, 2026, 5:52 a.m. ETAjit Pawar, a veteran Indian politician and the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, one of India’s most powerful states, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, along with the four other people on board.The Bombardier Learjet 45 crashed as it was preparing to land in the city of Baramati, Mr. Pawar’s political constituency, where he was to campaign for upcoming local elections. Photos of the accident site shared on social media showed thick smoke rising from the wreckage of the burned aircraft and debris strewed across an open field near the city’s airport.Mr. Pawar’s personal security officer, an attendant and two crew members were also killed in the crash, according to a statement by India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation. Officials said they would open an investigation into the cause of the crash.The plane was operated by a Delhi-based aviation charter company, officials said. It had aborted one landing and had received clearance to make a second when the accident happened, they said.Mr. Pawar, 66, was a member of an influential political family who forged alliances to navigate his way to the top of Maharashtra’s hardscrabble politics. He had been in his role for a little over a year as part of the state’s governing coalition, which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist political party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Pawar was one of two deputy chief ministers in an unusual power-sharing agreement meant to retain stability within the coalition.Mr. Pawar had been traveling from Mumbai, the state capital, to address public meetings as part of a campaign for upcoming local elections, according to local media.A career politician, he had served as deputy chief minister six times under different governments, with his latest term beginning in 2024. He held significant portfolios within the state cabinet.In a condolence message posted on social media, Mr. Modi called him a “leader of the people” who was “widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra.”“It is a very difficult day for Maharashtra today. For me, personally, I have lost a strong friend,” Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra, said as he declared a public holiday in the state and three days of mourning.“The entire country is mourning this loss,” he added.Eknath Shinde, the other deputy in the state, called Mr. Pawar a team player and an “articulate, committed and hardworking leader.”In 2023, Mr. Pawar broke away from his uncle, Sharad Pawar, a three-time chief minister of Maharashtra who had co-founded the Nationalist Congress Party, a fixture of state politics. Mr. Pawar then joined an alliance led by the B.J.P. that formed Maharashtra’s government after winning the 2024 state election.The split weakened the elder Mr. Pawar’s hold on the state — whose capital Mumbai is India’s financial and entertainment behemoth.Mr. Pawar is survived by his wife, the politician Sunetra Pawar, and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.Pragati K.B. is a reporter for The Times based in New Delhi, covering news from across India.SKIP