"How did this happen?": Chhagan Bhujbal shocked over Ajit Pawar's sudden death in Baramati plane crash

Baramati (Maharashtra) [India], January 28 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday expressed shock over the Baramati plane crash that killed five people, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, asking whether the accident occured due to a problem in the plane or pilot error.
"How that aeroplane got there or landed, I don't know. Because the airstrip, where planes land and take off, is very large, not small. Despite all that, how did this happen? Was there a mistake in the plane, or did the pilot make a mistake? I can't say," Bhujbal told ANI.
Meanwhile, Pawar's last rites will be performed with full state honours at 11 am on Thursday. Senior leaders from various political parties reached Baramati to pay their last respects.
Senior NCP leader and a prominent political figure in Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, passed away in a chartered plane crash while travelling from Mumbai to Baramati this morning. Pawar was on his way to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections.
Pawar served multiple terms as Deputy Chief Minister and held key portfolios in the state government. Known for his strong influence in western Maharashtra, particularly in Baramati, his death has sent shockwaves across the political spectrum.
Following the passing of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis proclaimed a state holiday and ordered three days of mourning across Maharashtra.
The national flag will be flown at half-mast across Maharashtra during the three-day mourning period in accordance with established protocol. All government-sponsored entertainment events have been cancelled during the mourning period.
According to DGCA, five people, including the crew, on board the chartered plane flying from Mumbai, Maharashtra, 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 2 more personnel (1 PSO and 1 attendant) and 2 crew members. Further details about the crash are awaited.
Pawar was in Mumbai on Tuesday, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by CM Devendra Fadnavis. Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other officials were also present.
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. (ANI)