Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of India’s Maharashtra state, has died in a plane crash along with four other people, the country’s aviation regulator has said.
The plane, which had taken off from Mumbai, crash-landed at the airport in Pawar’s constituency of Baramati, where it had been headed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
The cause of the crash has not been officially confirmed yet.
Two members of Pawar’s staff and two crew were killed along with the deputy chief minister.
Visuals from the crash site show the wreckage of a plane engulfed in plumes of smoke and flames.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X that he was “saddened” by news of the crash.
“My thoughts are with all those who lost their loved ones in the crash. Praying for strength and courage for the bereaved families in this moment of profound grief,” he wrote. In a separate post, he also paid tribute to Pawar.
Pawar – the nephew of veteran politician Sharad Pawar who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – was an influential politician in Maharashtra.
His political career spanned decades and he served as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra several times. A few years ago, he broke away from his uncle’s party with several lawmakers and set up his own party which India’s Election Commission later officially recognised as the NCP.
His party was part of Maharashtra’s governing alliance along with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party
