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Ajit Pawar
Pawar in December 2024
8th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
In office
5 December 2024 (2024-12-05) – 28 January 2026 (2026-01-28)
Serving with Eknath Shinde
Governor
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Ministry and Departments
Preceded byDevendra Fadnavis
Succeeded bySunetra Pawar
Other positions
8th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
In office
2 July 2023 – 5 December 2024
Serving with Devendra Fadnavis
GovernorRamesh Bais
C. P. Radhakrishnan
Chief MinisterEknath Shinde
Ministry and Departments
Preceded byDevendra Fadnavis
Succeeded byHimself
In office
30 December 2019 – 29 June 2022[1]
GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray
Ministry and Departments
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byDevendra Fadnavis
In office
23 November 2019 – 26 November 2019
GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis
Ministry and Departments
  • Minister without Portfolio
Preceded byPresident's rule
Succeeded byHimself
In office
25 October 2012 – 26 September 2014
Governor
Chief MinisterPrithviraj Chavan
Ministry and Departments
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byPresident's rule
In office
10 November 2010 – 25 September 2012
Governor
Chief MinisterPrithviraj Chavan
Ministry and Departments
Preceded byChhagan Bhujbal
Succeeded byHimself
23rd Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
4 July 2022 – 2 July 2023
Governor
DeputyBalasaheb Thorat
Chief MinisterEknath Shinde
Speaker
Preceded byDevendra Fadnavis
Succeeded byJitendra Awhad (acting)

Balasaheb Thorat (additional charge)
Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar
Leader of the House in Maharashtra Legislative Council
In office
24 February 2020 – 29 June 2022
GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari
DeputySubhash Desai
ChairmanRamraje Naik Nimbalkar
Preceded by
Succeeded byDevendra Fadnavis
In office
11 November 2010 – 25 September 2012
GovernorK. Sankaranarayanan
ChairmanShivajirao Deshmukh
Preceded byChhagan Bhujbal
Succeeded byR. R. Patil
Cabinet Minister in Maharashtra
In office
7 November 2009 – 10 November 2010
Governor
Ministry and Departments
  • Water Resources
  • Krishna Valley Irrigation Corporation
  • Energy
Chief MinisterAshok Chavan
Preceded by
Succeeded by
In office
8 December 2008 – 6 November 2009
Governor
Ministry and Departments
  • Water Resources
  • Water Supply
  • Sanitation Command Area Development
Chief MinisterAshok Chavan
In office
9 November 2004 – 1 December 2008
Governor
Ministry and Departments
  • Water Resources
  • Excluding Krishna Valley Corporation
Chief MinisterVilasrao Deshmukh
In office
18 January 2003 – 1 November 2004
Governor
Ministry and Departments
  • Horticulture
  • Rural Development
  • Panchayat Raj
Chief MinisterSushilkumar Shinde
In office
19 October 1999 – 16 January 2003
Governor
Ministry and Departments
  • Horticulture
  • Irrigation (Krishna Valley Development)
  • Irrigation (Konkan Valley Development)
Chief MinisterVilasrao Deshmukh
Succeeded by
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
29 August 1991 – 28 January 2026
Preceded bySharad Pawar
ConstituencyBaramati
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
3 May 1991 – 18 September 1991
Preceded byShankarrao Bajirao Patil
Succeeded bySharad Pawar
ConstituencyBaramati, Maharashtra
National President of Nationalist Congress Party
In office
30 June 2023 – 28 January 2026
Preceded bySharad Pawar
Succeeded bySunetra Pawar
Personal details
BornAjit Anantrao Pawar
(1959-07-22)22 July 1959
Deolali Pravara, Bombay State, India
Died28 January 2026(2026-01-28) (aged 66)
Baramati, Maharashtra, India
Cause of deathAircraft accident
PartyNationalist Congress Party
Other political
affiliations		National Democratic Alliance (2023–2026)
United Progressive Alliance (2004–2022)
Spouse
​
(m. 1985)​
Children2
Residence
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.ajitpawar.org
NicknameDada

Ajit Anantrao Pawar[a] (22 July 1959 – 28 January 2026) was an Indian politician who served as Maharashtra's longest-serving deputy chief minister until his death in 2026.[2][3] He held the office for six terms under various governments, including the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde.[4]

He also served as the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2022 to 2023 and represented Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in 1991.[5]

Ancestry

See also: Political families of Maharashtra

Pawar's grandparents were Govindrao and Shardabai Pawar.[6] Shardabai was active in the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP). In 1938, she was elected unopposed to the Pune local board.[6] The couple had eleven children, including seven sons and four daughters;[6] one of their sons, named Sharad Pawar, later became the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a four-time chief minister of Maharashtra.[6]

Early life

Ajit Anantrao Pawar[7] was born on 22 July 1959 in Deolali Pravara, Maharashtra,[8][9] to Anantrao and Ashatai Pawar.[10] In 1985,[11] he married Sunetra Pawar (née Patil), the sister of Padamsinh Bajirao Patil, a senior NCP leader.[12][13] The couple had two sons, Parth and Jay Pawar.[14]

Following the footsteps of his uncle Sharad Pawar in the Indian National Congress,[15] Ajit Pawar made his first foray into politics in 1982 when he was elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. In 1991, he was elected as the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank and remained in the post for the next 16 years.[16]

Political career

Pawar was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency. He later vacated the seat for his uncle, who then became the Defence Minister in Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's government.[17] Pawar was known for his blunt and pragmatic leadership style, nicknamed "Ajit Dada".[18][19]

Later, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly seven times from the Baramati Assembly constituency. He first won in a 1991 by-election and subsequently retained it for five consecutive terms in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.[20][21][22] He served as the Minister of State for Agriculture and Power in CM Sudhakarrao Naik's government from 1991 to 1992.[23]

He became the Minister of State for Soil Conservation, Power and Planning in 1992 when Sharad Pawar became the Chief Minister. In 1999, as part of the INC-NCP coalition government, he became a Cabinet Minister responsible for the Irrigation Department. He was additionally given the Rural Development Department in 2003 as part of Sushilkumar Shinde's cabinet.[23] After the INC-NCP coalition won in the 2004 Assembly elections, he retained the Water Resources Ministry in Deshmukh's and later Ashok Chavan's cabinets.[24]

There were allegations that, as the minister for water resources, he helped the development of Lavasa,[25] a project touted as a "vision of Sharad Pawar". The Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) leased 141.15 ha (348.8 acres) to Lavasa in August 2002, which included part of the Warasgaon dam reservoir. The lease between MKVDC and Lavasa was executed at rates far below the market rate.[26]

In September 2012, there were accusations that there had been misappropriation to the tune of Rs. 70,000 crores. These allegations were made by the Maharashtra bureaucrat Vijay Pandhare, and caused the anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania to demand Pawar's resignation as a minister. However, the allegations were not proved, and Ajit was reinstated as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra.[27]

On 7 April 2013, Pawar's statement at a speech in Indapur sparked controversy due to its alleged callousness. In response to a 55-day fast by activists protesting the Maharashtra government's inability to provide water during a drought, he asked whether he should "urinate into [the dam]" to make up for the lack of water in it. After a public outcry against his statement, he publicly apologised, saying that the comment was the "biggest mistake of [his] life".[28]

According to reports, Ajit Pawar made a phone call to the Pune Police Commissioner on 19 May 2024, after Vedant Agarwal (son of Vishal Agarwal, owner of Brahma Realty & Infrastructure), then 17 and allegedly drunk, crashed a luxury Porsche in Pune's Kalyani Nagar, killing two IT professionals on a motorbike. Pawar allegedly urged the police not to harshly pursue the case against the minor accused. This was widely described as political pressure.[29] Pawar did not deny calling the police commissioner, but said it was to ensure the police did not face other pressures, portraying it as routine oversight by a guardian minister rather than interference. Pawar also described the allegations as baseless.[29]

Leader of Nationalist Congress Party

Rebellion against Sharad Pawar

Main article: 2023 Maharashtra political crisis

On 23 November 2019, he defected from NCP and joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the Deputy Chief Minister.[30][31] He submitted a paper with the signatures of NCP's MLAs to the Governor to prove the government's majority. However, the government collapsed less than 80 hours later and he resigned alongside then-CM Devendra Fadnavis. He subsequently returned to the NCP, and on 1 December 2019, it was announced that he would take over as Deputy CM for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government after the start of the winter session of the state legislature on 16 December.[32]

In 2022, due to a split in the Shiv Sena, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. After the rebel Shiv Sena faction and BJP formed a government with Eknath Shinde as CM, Pawar became the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.[33]

2023 party split

In 2023, having the support of the majority of the erstwhile NCP's MLAs, he also claimed the position of president of the NCP, as well as the party's name and its electoral symbol.[34][35] Pawar joined the ruling Maha Yuti coalition and took the oath as deputy CM of the state on 2 July. On 7 February 2024, the Election Commission Of India (ECI) awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit. The faction led by Sharad Pawar will be henceforth known as Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar).[36][35] Despite his faction being routed in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, his NCP placed in third in the 2024 Legislative Assembly election, with the Maha Yuti alliance forming a landslide majority government; Pawar was again sworn-in as deputy chief minister in December, tasked with portfolios such as finance. The party also performed well in the 2025–26 Maharashtra local elections. Months before his death, reconciliation talks between the two NCP parties were reportedly occurring.[37][38] His wife, Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra, would succeed him as party president and deputy chief minister.

Death

Main article: 2026 Baramati Learjet 45 crash

On 28 January 2026, at approximately 08:44 IST (UTC+5:30), a business jet carrying Pawar on an air charter flight from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai to Baramati Airport in Maharashtra crashed while attempting a second approach to Baramati Airport Runway 11. The aircraft veered off the runway, burst into flames, and was destroyed on impact, resulting in the deaths of Pawar and four others on board.[39][40][41][42][43]

The aircraft was a 16-year-old Learjet 45XR, registration VT-SSK, operated by VSR Aviation.[44][45]

At the time of the incident, Pawar was travelling to Baramati to address multiple public meetings in connection with the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections.[46] The Maharashtra government declared a three-day state of mourning following his death; his funeral was held in Baramati on 29 January, with full state honours. His body was cremated.[47][48]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of Ajit Pawar
Election candidature history
Election Year Party Constituency Opponent Result Margin
Lok Sabha 1991[49] INC Baramati BJP Kanta Nalawade Won 336,831
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly 1991^[50] INC Baramati BJP K.H.Khanderao Won 86,915
1995[51] INC IND Kakade Ratanrao Bhagwanrao Won 77,335
1999[52] NCP IND Taware Chandrarao Krishnarao Won 50,366
2004[53] NCP SS Popatrao Mansingrao Tupe Won 66,157
2009[54] NCP IND Taware Ranjankumar Shankarrao Won 102,797
2014[55] NCP BJP Prabhakar Dadaram Gawade Won 89,792
2019[56] NCP BJP Gopichand Padalkar Won 165,265
2024[57][58][59] Nationalist Congress Party (post–2023) NCP-SP Yugendra Pawar Won 100,899

References

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Marathi: अजित अनन्तराव पवार, romanized: Ajita Anantarāva Pavāra

Citations

  1. ^ "Not Accepted Happily: Sharad Pawar On Devendra Fadnavis's Number 2 Post". NDTV.com.
  2. ^ "In Ajit Pawar's Shock Switch, A Sharad Pawar Question Ahead of 2024". NDTV.
  3. ^ Deshpande, Abhinay (5 December 2024). "Ajit Pawar breaks records as deputy CM, but his long quest for the top job remains unfulfilled". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Six-time deputy, never the CM: 'CM in waiting' Ajit Pawar's long tryst with politics". MoneyControl. 5 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Ajit Pawar new Opposition leader in Maharashtra assembly | India News". The Times of India. 4 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Shaikh, Zeeshan (28 January 2026). "How Ajit Pawar reshaped the Pawar dynasty". The Indian Express.
  7. ^ "'Ajit Pawar's Faction Is NCP': EC Directs Sharad Pawar To Claim A New Name". The Quint. 6 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Ajit Pawar, the power broker who dominated Maharashtra politics". Maktoob Media. 28 January 2026.
  9. ^ Agarwal, Rishika (28 January 2026). "Ajit Pawar dies at 66: How he shaped Maharashtra politics over the decades". Business Standard.
  10. ^ "Sharad Pawar To Supriya Sule: Ajit Pawar's Family Tree". NDTV. 29 January 2026.
  11. ^ Singh, Anand (28 January 2026). "Will Ajit's wife Sunetra emerge as the new Pawar centre of NCP?". India Today.
  12. ^ Shaikh, Zeeshan (30 January 2026). "Sunetra Pawar: The reluctant politician set to carry forward husband Ajit Pawar's legacy". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 30 January 2026.
  13. ^ Kumar, Vivek (31 January 2026). "Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra takes oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister". Archived from the original on 31 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Who is Sunetra Pawar? A look at Ajit Pawar's wife, sons and family tree". Hindustan Times. 29 January 2026.
  15. ^ "Ajit Pawar". NDTV. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Ajit Pawar: 'Forever deputy CM' is ultimate survivor of churning in Maharashtra politics". The Economic Times. 5 December 2024. ISSN 0013-0389.
  17. ^ Kher, Swatee (30 September 2012). "The angry, young Pawar". The Indian Express.
  18. ^ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ajit-pawar-dies-ajit-pawar-plane-crash-baramati-witnessed-ajit-pawars-rise-and-tragic-end-10898798
  19. ^ "Obituary: Ajit Pawar, the mercurial leader who stepped out of his uncle's shadow".
  20. ^ "Baramati stays with Ajit Pawar". The Indian Express. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  21. ^ "Baramati Vidhan Sabha Chunav Results Live Updates: बारामती में 1,65,265 वोटों से जीते एनसीपी के अजित पवार, भाजपा प्रत्याशी को हराया". India TV Hindi (in Hindi). 24 October 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Surprise, surprise: Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra CM, Ajit Pawar Dy CM". India Today. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra". maharashtrasadan.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  24. ^ "People facing draft charges can join BJP and get clean, the party is 'washing machine' : Sharad Pawar". The New Indian Express. PTI. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Lavasa's journey downhill". Down To Earth. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  26. ^ "Lavasa exposed". Down To Earth. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  27. ^ "Ajit Pawar reinstated". Business Standard India. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Ajit Pawar apologizes again, says 'this is biggest mistake of my life'". The Times of India. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  29. ^ a b Kumar, Krishna (28 May 2024). "Ajit Pawar, 2 NCP leaders face 'interference' allegations Pune porsche accident case". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  30. ^ Tirodkar, Amey (12 July 2023). "Tough times ahead for Sharad Pawar after BJP lures away Ajit Pawar in NCP split". Frontline. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Ajit Pawar: पहाटेच्या शपथविधीपूर्वी काय घडलं होतं? अजित पवारांनी घटनाक्रम ..." [Ajit Pawar: What happened during oath ceremony at the dawn? timeline...]. Times Now Marathi. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  32. ^ Marpakwar, Prafulla (2 December 2019). "Ajit Pawar to be deputy CM after winter session begins". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  33. ^ Vyas, Sharad (23 November 2019). "Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister after Ajit Pawar ditches uncle Sharad Pawar". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Maharashtra NCP Ajit Pawar..." The Wire. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  35. ^ a b "A. Deputy... Maharashtra". The Hindu. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Sharad Pawar faction gets new name day after Ajit camp declared 'real' NCP". Express News service. New Delhi. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Ajit Pawar: Grief and shock over politician's death in plane crash".
  38. ^ "Who was Ajit Pawar, the Indian politician killed in plane crash?".
  39. ^ "Ajit Pawar: Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state dies in plane crash". www.bbc.com. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  40. ^ "Ajit Pawar's Flight Crash in Baramati dist Pune". CNN-News18. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  41. ^ "Ajit Pawar Passed Away: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister dies in plane crash near Baramati". Lokmat. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  42. ^ "Air charter crash in India's Maharashtra kills key state leader". Reuters. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  43. ^ "Ajit Anantrao Pawar (1959–2026): Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Passes Away". Telugu Vaadi TV. 28 January 2025. Archived from the original on 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  44. ^ "Ajit Pawar death news updates: Maharashtra deputy CM dies in Baramati crash, DGCA confirms". Hindustan Times. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  45. ^ "VT-SSK – Learjet 45XR". Flightradar24. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  46. ^ Wable, Omkar (28 January 2026). "Ajit Pawar, 4 others killed in plane crash in Baramati: What we know so far". India Today. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  47. ^ "State mourning after Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash: Are banks in Maharashtra closed on Thursday?". The Times of India.
  48. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. "Veteran Indian politician Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash, leaving power vacuum". The Guardian.
  49. ^ https://eci.gov.in/files/file/4121-general-election-1991-vol-i-ii/?do=download&r=9764&confirm=1&t=1&csrfKey=6fdbcc3fe6a2e2fce996db3722892e72
  50. ^ "Details of Bye Elections from 1952 to 1995". old.eci.gov.in. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  51. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1995 to the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2012.
  52. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1999 to the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2012.
  53. ^ "IndiaVotes AC: Maharashtra 2004".
  54. ^ "General Elections to State Legislative Assembly 2009" (PDF). Chief Eletoral Officer, Maharashtra. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2024.
  55. ^ "Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Election, 2014". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  56. ^ "General Election to Vidhan Sabha Trends & Results Oct-2019". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  57. ^ CNBCTV18 (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra Elections 2024: 14 candidates win by over 1 lakh votes, all from Mahayuti". Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  58. ^ Hindustantimes (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra election results: These candidates have won by biggest margins so far". Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  59. ^ The Hindu, Sruthi (23 November 2024). "Maharashtra Assembly election results 2024 | Who won in Pune?". Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
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