While mourning the huge loss for Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has appealed not to politicise the death of his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in the Baramati plane crash earlier on Wednesday.
Calling the plane crash an accident, Sharad Pawar said that politics should not be brought into this.
In a video message, the veteran leader said, “Maharashtra has lost a dynamic and decisive leader. Some people are saying there is some politics behind this, but it was an accident, and there is no politics involved. Politics should not be brought into this.”
अजित पवार ह्यांचा अपघाती मृत्यू हा महाराष्ट्राला प्रचंड मोठा धक्का आहे. एक कर्तृत्ववान आणि निर्णय घेण्याची शक्ती ज्यांच्यात आहे अशा व्यक्तीला महाराष्ट्र आज मुकला. जे काही नुकसान झालंय ते भरून निघणारं नाही पण सगळ्याच गोष्टी काही आपल्या हातात नसतात.
मी आज मिडियासमोर येणार नव्हतो… pic.twitter.com/SI2qBqsnpH
— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) January 28, 2026
The senior NCP-SP leader’s message comes after Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sought the Supreme Court’s probe into the plane crash, doubting foul play behind the incident.
After the sudden demise of Ajit Pawar, Banerjee had posted on the social media platform X: “The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and his co-passengers have died in a disastrous plane crash at Baramati this morning, and I am feeling a deep sense of loss. My condolences to his family, including his uncle Sharad Pawar, and late Ajit’s all friends and followers. The incident needs a proper investigation.”
| West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressed profound grief over the tragic and untimely demise of Maharashtra’s Deputy CM, Ajit Pawar in a devastating plane crash. Conveying condolences to the bereaved family and supporters, she urged a Supreme Court-monitored investigation to… pic.twitter.com/bjkkTbvzA2
— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) January 28, 2026
TMC has claimed that Ajit Pawar had plans to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party a few days ago, and therefore questioning the occurrence of the plane crash.
“The death of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is a very sad matter. Our supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has spoken about this. There should be a full investigation into this; it is our party’s demand. A few days ago, there was news that Ajit Pawar was planning to leave the BJP and form an alliance with the opposition. At such a time, news of this accident has come. There should be an investigation into this,” said senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
Also, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded an investigation into the accident, calling Ajit Pawar’s death ‘premature’ and the accident ‘unnatural’
“Ajit Pawar died a premature death. The passing away of a hard-working man has shocked us all. We are with his family in this hour. An investigation must take place because the accident is unnatural. All the leaders and corporate people fly for urgent work. It was a small plane, so why did this happen? It should be investigated,” Kharge stated.