Who was Ajit Pawar, the Indian politician killed in plane crash?

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A backstage level carrying Ajit Pawar, the lawman main curate of India’s Maharashtra state, crashed connected Wednesday, sidesplitting him and 4 different radical connected board, authorities said.

The craft was en way to Baramati, Pawar’s location city, from India’s fiscal superior of Mumbai erstwhile it crash-landed successful an unfastened tract and burst into flames immoderate 254km (159 miles) from the authorities capital.

Who was Ajit Pawar?

Pawar, 66, was a cardinal governmental fig and served arsenic the second-highest elected authoritative successful Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state.

He was an state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‌in the authorities government, starring a faction ⁠that divided successful 2023 from the absorption Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

He wielded sizeable power successful the state’s sweetener loop and was known for his quality to mobilise agrarian voters.

Born connected July 22, 1959, Pawar started his governmental vocation with the Indian National Congress, commonly known arsenic the Congress party, successful the precocious 1980s, influenced by his uncle Sharad Pawar, according to a study successful India’s The Hindu newspaper.

In 1991, helium was archetypal elected arsenic a subordinate of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Baramati constituency, which helium represented for a grounds 8 terms.

In 1999, erstwhile his almighty uncle formed the NCP, Pawar joined it and served respective presumption arsenic Maharashtra’s lawman main curate successful coalitions led by the NCP implicit the past 2 decades.

In 2019, Pawar concisely near the NCP to articulation the BJP’s furniture successful Maharashtra arsenic a lawman main minister. He aboriginal returned to the enactment and, successful 2023, orchestrated a divided wrong the NCP by aligning with the BJP-led coalition.

In February 2024, the Election Commission of India acknowledged Ajit Pawar’s faction arsenic the authoritative NCP. The aforesaid year, helium was sworn successful arsenic Maharashtra’s lawman main curate for a sixth time.

What’s Pawar’s legacy?

Pawar’s publication to the improvement of his portion was significant, said a study successful The Indian Express newspaper, peculiarly successful Maharashtra’s Pimpri-Chinchwad area, wherever helium pushed “large-scale infrastructure projects, including wider roads and improved civic facilities”.

Baramati particularly underwent a makeover, with respective infrastructure projects attributed to him, arsenic helium supervised the improvement of his bastion with his uncle, Sharad Pawar.

However, Pawar was besides accused of corruption successful 2 salient cases.

In an alleged Maharashtra irrigation scam, helium was accused of engagement successful irregularities successful awarding contracts worthy millions of dollars for civic projects betwixt 1999 and 2009.

Last year, helium was named successful a onshore scam successful Maharashtra’s Pune city, with a institution owned by his lad accused of buying reserved authorities onshore beneath the marketplace value. Upon uproar, the woody was scrapped.

Government inquiries into some the alleged scams stay inconclusive.

How did Pawar die?

Pawar’s aircraft, travelling from Mumbai, tried to marque an exigency landing successful the household stronghold of Baramati, wherever helium was acceptable to canvass ‍in the section elections.

The VSR Ventures-operated Learjet 45 craft crashed successful an unfastened field astatine astir 8:30am (03:00 GMT) portion landing astatine Baramati airport, section media reported.

The charter craft went down successful flames, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator.

Videos from the clang tract showed fume billowing from immoderate of the burning wreckage of the plane, scattered crossed the unfastened field.

“At archetypal it was ‌on fire, aft that determination were 4 oregon 5 much explosions,” an unidentified witnesser told India’s ANI quality agency, aft seeing the level clang and explode. But the flames were ‌too fierce to propulsion anyone out, helium added.

Pawar was travelling with his idiosyncratic information officer, an assistant, and 2 unit members astatine the clip of the crash, the DGCA said.

VK ⁠Singh, the manager of VSR Ventures, told broadcaster India Today the origin of the clang was not clear.

“The craft is 100 percent safe,” helium said. “The unit was reasonably experienced.”

What person been the reactions?

PM Modi described Pawar arsenic a “leader of the people” successful a station helium shared connected X. He said Pawar’s “untimely demise” was “shocking and saddening”.

“Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a person of the radical … [with] a beardown grassroots level connect,” Modi said, adding that helium was a “widely respected” and “hardworking” governmental stalwart.

“His knowing of administrative matters and passionateness for empowering the mediocre and downtrodden were besides noteworthy.”

Rahul Gandhi of the Congress enactment besides posted his condolences connected X, calling Pawar’s decease “extremely painful”.

“I americium with the radical of Maharashtra successful this hr of grief,” helium wrote.

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said helium had “no words to explicit my emotions”.

“I person mislaid my beardown and generous friend,” helium posted connected societal media.

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