Kangana Ranaut was shocked to hear about Ajit Pawar’s death. Upon reaching Parliament, she learned of the plane crash from journalists.
“Oh my God, that’s horrible. It is such terrible news, and I am deeply sorry. At the moment, everything happened very suddenly. These are early-morning developments, and we were all in a great rush,” Kangana Ranaut said.
“There are really no words to fully express this. I would like to first align my emotions properly and then give a detailed statement,” the BJP MP from Mandi added.
On 28 January, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar passed away in a tragic plane crash near Baramati in Pune district. The chartered aircraft went off the runway while attempting to land at Baramati airport.
Political leaders' death in plane crash
Ajit Pawar joins the list of senior Indian politicians who have lost their lives in tragic air crashes.
One of the earliest cases was Sanjay Gandhi, who died on June 23, 1980. He was flying a light aircraft himself when it crashed near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi.
Investigators later blamed pilot error and loss of spatial awareness. His sudden death changed the political direction of the Congress party during a sensitive period.
In 2001, senior Congress leader and Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia died in a Beechcraft C90 plane crash. He was travelling from Delhi to Kanpur.
Officials said engine failure, along with bad weather, caused the accident. His death created a leadership vacuum in Madhya Pradesh and affected national politics.
Another major loss was YS Rajasekhara Reddy, then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. He died in a helicopter crash in 2009 after flying into bad weather over the Nallamala forest. His death led to massive public grief and political instability in the state.
Ajit Pawar, 66, is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar, and sons, Parth and Jay.
