‘Purely an accident’: Sharad Pawar dismisses political angle in Ajit Pawar death in plane crash

Maharashtra has been left in shock following the tragic death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died today when his chartered plane crash-landed at Baramati airport. Sharad Pawar, the veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief and Ajit’s uncle, described the incident as an “accident” and appealed to all not to politicise the tragedy.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suggested a political angle to the crash, citing reports that Ajit Pawar had considered leaving the BJP just two days ago. “I don’t know what is the fate of the opposition political parties, but he was very much with the ruling party. Two days ago, I came to know that someone from another party had given a statement that Pawar was willing to leave the BJP. Now this has happened,” she said, calling for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation.

A visibly emotional Sharad Pawar refuted such claims in a video statement, saying, “Ajit Pawar’s untimely death is a massive shock to Maharashtra. The state has today lost a capable and decisive leader.”

He made a pointed reference to Mamata Banerjee’s remarks, adding, “A stance was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. But there is nothing like this. There is no politics involved; it is purely an accident. It has caused immense grief to me and to the entire state of Maharashtra. I appeal to everyone not to politicise this tragedy.”

Reflecting on the fragility of life, Sharad Pawar said, “Not all things are in our hands.”

Ajit Pawar had left Mumbai for Baramati to attend civic election rallies when the crash occurred. The plane reportedly crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board, including his personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots.