‘No politics, purely accident’: Sharad Pawar on Ajit Pawar’s death in plane crash

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday reportedly ruled out any conspiracy behind the death of his nephew, Ajit Pawar, who was killed earlier in the day in a fatal plane crash. 

He urged political leaders and the public not to politicise the tragedy, describing the incident as a pure accident.

In his first reaction following Ajit Pawar’s death, Sharad Pawar reportedly said attempts were being made to give the incident a political angle. “Some people are trying to give a political colour to the incident. There is no politics involved; it is purely an accident,” he said. “It has caused immense grief to me and to the entire state of Maharashtra. I appeal to everyone not to politicise this tragedy.”

His remarks came amid demands from sections of the opposition for an inquiry into the crash in which Ajit Pawar was travelling.

Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the crash could be the result of a “political conspiracy” and called for an investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court. “I don’t know what the fate of opposition political parties is, but he was very much with the ruling party. Two days ago, I heard that someone from another party had said Pawar was willing to leave the BJP, and now this has happened,” she allegedly claimed.

Banerjee said she did not trust investigative agencies and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe. She also alleged that Ajit Pawar was preparing to rejoin the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar, citing recent reports that had suggested such a possibility.

Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, also called for an investigation, describing Ajit Pawar’s death as untimely and deeply shocking. “We will demand an investigation into this accident. It is a very sad incident. Ajit Pawar died a premature death. The passing away of a hard-working man has shocked us all. We stand with his family in this hour,” Kharge said.

Ajit Pawar was killed along with his personal security officer and three cabin crew members when the aircraft they were travelling in crashed while attempting to land at the Baramati airfield. The flight had taken off from Mumbai, and the crash occurred at around 8.48 am.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have dispatched teams to the crash site to investigate the cause of the accident.

Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in non-consecutive terms, having held the post six times under different governments. He served as deputy chief minister in the cabinets led by Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.