Modi, Shah & other leaders express grief over Ajit Pawar's demise

Delhi: Following the death of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash early on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders have taken to social media, expressing their grief over the accident.

In a post on X, Modi said he was deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Pawar's death, calling him a leader of the people with a strong grassroots connection. He also noted Pawar's hardworking personality and his service to the people of Maharashtra.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the tragedy a personal loss for both the NDA family and himself. "The way Ajit Pawar ji dedicated himself to the welfare of every section of society in Maharashtra over the past three-and-a-half decades cannot be expressed in words," Shah said in a post on X.

Union Ministers H D Kumaraswamy and Nitin Gadkari too expressed their sorrow over the untimely demise of Pawar, calling it shocking. 

The Kerala Assembly also paid tribute to Pawar. After the question hour ended, Speaker A N Shamseer informed the house of Pawar's demise and asked everyone to observe a brief silence to pay respect.

Additionally, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu were among the prominent leaders who took to social media to express their grief.

Pawar (66) and four others were killed in a plane crash during an emergency landing at Baramati airport on Wednesday. The incident occurred as the aircraft was attempting to land in the Baramati area of Pune district. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed that there were no survivors. According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am.

Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 zilla parishad elections in the state. There were five people on board when the aircraft crashed at 8.50 am, a police official said.