Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed in Pune's Baramati on Wednesday morning. He had taken off from Mumbai to address four rallies in Pune district for the February 5 Zilla Parishad elections. He is survived by his wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha, and two sons, Parth and Jay.
Meanwhile, a three-day state mourning has been announced as a mark of respect to Pawar. All state government offices, public sector undertakings, and administrative departments will remain closed. Educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, have also been shut, and several examinations and academic activities have been postponed. Moreover, government-organised entertainment programmes, public celebrations, and official events have been cancelled. Some IT companies, including Siemens, have issued work-from-home advisories for their employees.
However, essential services like hospitals and medical facilities, as well as public transport, including buses and local transport services, are functioning as usual.
Know about Ajit Pawar:
Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.
In 1982, Ajit Pawar began his political career after being elected to the board of a cooperative sugar factory. In 1991, he was elected as the chairman of the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1991 from the Baramati Parliamentary constituency and later vacated the seat for his uncle Sharad Pawar. 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 in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014.
