"We stand with family in their time of grief": Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Ajit Pawar's demise

Tagore said that his party leadership have spoken to Pawar family and has assured their support in this "time of grief."

"It's a huge loss for the Pawar family, and we pay our condolences. Our leadership has spoken with them, and we stand with the family in their time of grief," Manickam Tagore told ANI.

Meanwhile, a local described Ajit Pawar's death as a "shocker" and said the truth behind the incident would come out. He called it a significant blow to farmers, labourers, and industrial workers while highlighting the development model in Baramati.

"This is not the time to do politics. What actually happened will come out. But this is a big accident, a shocker. This is a significant blow to farmers, labourers, and industry. This is a loss to the entire state and the entire country...Baramati was raised as a role model. How should the development be structured, and how should it be maintained? Baramati was made a role model for this. Baramati will be impacted a little," the local told ANI.

Earlier today, the mortal remains of Ajit Pawar were brought to his residence in Katewadi ahead of his last rites. Funeral preparations are underway at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati. Pawar lost his life in a plane crash on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, MLA Rohit Pawar and other members of the Pawar family gathered at the Katewadi residence in Baramati ahead of Ajit Pawar's funeral.

Supporters of the NCP chief gathered outside Ahilyabai Holkar Government Medical College to pay their final respects as his mortal remains were taken out.

The funeral procession for Maharashtra's longest-serving Deputy CM (non-consecutively) will start from the Vidya Pratishthan campus (Gadima) at 9 AM, pass through the city for people to pay their respects to Pawar, and culminate at the Vidya Pratishthan Ground for the funeral, scheduled to take place at 11 AM.

The mortal remains of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will be carried in a decorated rath for his 'Antim Yatra' today. The chariot is adorned with flowers, featuring Pawar's image and a board reading "Swargiya Ajitdada Pawar amar rahein" (Long live Ajit Dada Pawar).

Ajit 'Dada' Pawar died on Wednesday in a plane crash at Baramati airport, leaving behind a long career of ups and downs in politics. He was headed to Baramati to attend a public rally for the Zilla Parishad Elections.

Ajit Pawar was born on 22nd July 1959 in Deolali Pravara, Rahuri taluka, Ahmednagar district.

He was known among the people as "Ajit Dada" for his tireless efforts on behalf of the people of Maharashtra and his ability to stay connected to them and the soil.

In addition to making significant contributions to government administration, Pawar oversaw the management of various cooperative organisations, including Milk Unions and Federations and sugar factories.

Ajit Dada's leadership journey began and continued across institutions such as milk unions, cooperative societies, sugar factories, and banks, and took a new direction in 1991 when he was elected to the Lok Sabha. He would later vacate the Baramati seat for his uncle Sharad Pawar. Since then, he has held many more positions, including MLA, Minister of State for various critical government departments, and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

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.

In November 2019, he engineered a split in the NCP, joined a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and became the Deputy Chief Minister. In February 2024, the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to the faction headed by Ajit Pawar.

Despite this, Ajit Pawar was known to be very close to his uncle, Sharad Pawar, under whose guidance he began his political career. In the recently held Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Elections, the two rival factions of the NCP formed an alliance and presented a united development agenda for Pune.

Ajit Pawar was famed for his straightforward approach and frankness. He is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar. (ANI)