Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, India’s wealthiest state, was killed on Wednesday after a charter aircraft crashed and burst into flames, according to India’s aviation regulator. Four other people on board were also killed.
Pawar was travelling to his home region to campaign in local body elections when the Learjet 45, operated by VSR Ventures, went down while approaching the city of Baramati. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed that no one survived the crash.
The aircraft had departed from Mumbai and reportedly attempted an emergency landing. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Video footage showed burning wreckage scattered across an open field, with witnesses reporting multiple explosions.
Pawar, a senior political figure from a prominent family, supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling alliance in Maharashtra after leading a split from the Nationalist Congress Party in 2023. Modi described the incident as “shocking and saddening.”
