Madhur Bhandarkar says Ajit Pawar's death is "big loss," expresses condolences to family

Speaking to ANI, Bhandarkar shared how the news of the plane crash has left him "extremely saddened."

"When I received the news of the plane crash, I felt extremely saddened. This is a very big loss for Maharashtra... He made a very significant contribution to Maharashtra. I have personally met him many times as well... I express my condolences to the entire Pawar family...," he told ANI.

Earlier, actor Riteish Deshmukh also took to his X account to mourn the loss of one of the state's most influential political figures. "Deeply shocked and terribly heartbroken to learn that we have lost Ajit Dada in a tragic accident. One of Maharashtra's most dynamic leaders, he had zero tolerance for non-performance and constantly pushed and inspired those around him to excel," Deshmukh wrote on X.

Ajit Pawar died after the plane he was travelling in crashed on Wednesday morning in Maharashtra's Baramati.

According to DGCA, five people, including the crew, on board the chartered plane flying from Mumbai to Baramati died after a crash-landing at 8.45 am this morning. The crash landing of the Mumbai-Baramati charter plane occurred at the runway threshold in Baramati. Pawar was onboard along with two more personnel (1 PSO and 1 attendant) and two crew members. Further details about the crash are awaited.

Pawar was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad Elections. Pawar was in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other officials were also present.

Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. (ANI)