'He Was Like Our Father; We Lost Our King': Baramati Mourns As Ajit Pawar Is Cremated With Full State Honours

A massive crowd of mourners thronged Baramati on Thursday to pay their last respects to their beloved leader, Ajit Pawar, who died in a tragic plane crash.

At the packed Vidya Pratishthan ground, Pawar's sons Parth and Jay lit the funeral pyre as his wife Sunetra struggled to hold back tears, while the air resonated with chants of “Ajit Dada Amar Rahe” and “Ajit Dada Parat Ya”.

Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Murlidhar Mohol, former Union minister Sharad Pawar, who is Ajit Pawar's uncle, and BJP president Nitin Nabin attended the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief's funeral.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde were also present. Former CMs Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, party leader Manikrao Thakare and actor Riteish Deshmukh also paid homage.

Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, Ajit Pawar's supporters from Baramati and beyond expressed their grief and narrated what he meant to them. Some said he was like a father to them and that now they have become orphans. Some said that he was irreplaceable and that his void cannot be filled.

Deepak Hare, who works in Bauli India Pvt Ltd, set up by Pawar in the Baramati area, said, “I live in the neighbourhood and work in the company set up by Dada. He was like God for us. Such a brutal incident with him is unexpected. His vision for Maharashtra was on another level, but the work he did for Baramati, no one can do.”

Anita Rahul Athawale, the first eyewitness to the plane crash, said, “It feels like someone from my family has died. The crowd of his loved ones itself speaks about the nature of Ajit Dada and his work for the people.”

Nitin Bhosale, who had come to Baramati all the way from Bhosari, said, “Dada was with us whenever we needed him. Today, it is our duty to be present at his last rituals to show our respect. He was a working man, as Dada had said in his speech a few days back.”

Ritij Harde, a resident of Baramati, highlighted, “This is very sad for us and other followers of the Pawar family. We have no words to express our grief. He was very frank with us and always followed even the smallest issues of the public.”

Padminibai Chavan, a senior citizen of Baramati, said, “I have seen Ajit Pawar from his early age. The good thing about him is that whatever the situation was, he always completed his commitments.”