Ajit Pawar plane crash — ‘Though he forged in Sharad Pawar's mold...’ : Raj Thackeray mourns Dy CM's sudden demise

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said that Maharashtra has lost an outstanding and capable leader with the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, describing him as remarkably straightforward, free of caste bias and someone with a precise grip on administration.

Ajit Pawar (66) and four others were killed when an aircraft carrying them crashed near Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday morning. He was travelling from Mumbai to his hometown Baramati to address public meetings.

In a post on X, Thackeray said, “My friend and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has passed away. Maharashtra's politics has lost an outstanding leader.” He said both of them entered politics around the same time, but Pawar, driven by sheer passion, rose rapidly in Maharashtra’s political landscape.

“Though Ajit Pawar was a leader forged in the mold of (Sharad) Pawar saheb, he later carved out his own independent identity. And he imprinted that identity in every nook and corner of Maharashtra,” Thackeray said.

Recalling political changes in the 1990s, Thackeray said Maharashtra saw rapid urbanisation, with rural areas moving towards semi-urbanisation. While the issues became urban in nature, the political tone remained rural.

Ajit Pawar, he said, fully understood this shift and knew how to manage such politics skillfully. Pimpri Chinchwad and Baramati were prime examples of this approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Whether it was Pimpri Chinchwad or Baramati, Ajit Dada transformed these regions in ways that even his political opponents would acknowledge,” Thackeray said.

Calling him an able administrator, Thackeray said, “He was a leader with a precise grip on administration and an exact knowledge of where to untangle the knots in a file to resolve it. In an era when administration must rise above those in power, it is extremely tragic that Maharashtra has lost such a leader.”

Thackeray also highlighted Pawar’s honesty in public life, saying he never made false promises.

“If something couldn’t be done, he would say it to the face, and if it could, he would put all his energy into it. Deceiving people by making promises and surrounding himself with crowds wasn’t his style,” he said.

Another quality he admired, Thackeray said, was Pawar’s stand against caste politics.

“Another quality of Ajit Pawar that I admired was that he was utterly free of caste bias, and caste had absolutely no place in his politics. In today's politics, leaders who demonstrate the courage to engage without regard for caste are dwindling, and Ajit Pawar was undoubtedly at the forefront among them,” he said.

Thackeray added that political opposition should never become personal.

Opposition in politics is political, not personal, he said, adding that leaders who believe poisonous criticism should not be taken personally are becoming rare.

The continuous loss of such generous political opponents, Thackeray noted, is a major blow to Maharashtra’s rich political tradition.