Ajit Pawar's death in plane crash raises NCP succession question

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, 66, was killed on January 28 when his Learjet 45 crashed while landing at Baramati on a flight from Mumbai. Five people died, including both pilots. His faction, formed after he split the NCP in July 2023, was given the party name and 'clock' symbol by the Election Commission in February 2024. Associate Kiran Gujar said Pawar had spoken of a near merger with Sharad Pawar's faction. Succession may narrow to Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar.

Written by AI from NCP (Ajit Pawar) · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 17 Sept 2026, 3:48 am IST

Source

NCP (Ajit Pawar) · read the original report ↗

#ajit pawar#ncp#maharashtra#plane crash#succession

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Ajit Pawar, 66, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, died on January 28 when his Learjet 45 crashed while landing at Baramati; five people including both pilots were killed. — Figures appear in the source but no investigating authority is cited for the toll; AAIB probe stated as ongoing.
Ajit Pawar told associate Kiran Gujar five days before the crash that a merger with the Sharad Pawar faction was near. — Attributed in the source to Kiran Gujar, described as a four-decade associate; single-source claim.
The Election Commission awarded Ajit Pawar's faction the NCP name and 'clock' symbol in February 2024, after the July 2023 split. — Stated as fact in the source without direct citation of the ECI order.
Mamata Banerjee sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe alleging other agencies are 'completely compromised'; Sharad Pawar said there is 'no conspiracy involved; it's purely an accident'. — Both quotes are attributed to the named leaders in the source.
Succession contest may narrow to Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar. — Presented as the writer's analysis, not an attributed or official position.

Written by AI from NCP (Ajit Pawar) · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

Ajit Pawar's death leaves Maharashtra politics with a sharp irony: the leader who broke away in 2023 arguing that ageing leadership must step aside is gone, and his faction may now drift back towards Sharad Pawar — less by choice than by circumstance. The faction won the party name and the 'clock' symbol in 2024, but those assets were underwritten largely by Ajit's personal command and his Baramati base. The story flags a possible succession contest between Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, a question that touches not just family arithmetic but the balance inside the Mahayuti alliance.

Formed only in July 2023, Ajit's faction rested more on his personal authority than on deep organisational roots — now its central vulnerability.
The Election Commission-awarded name and symbol could become a significant bargaining chip in any merger negotiation.
The two camps having contested the January 15 Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls together, with plans to extend that into the zilla parishad elections, suggests the merger talk was more than speculation.
If leadership indeed stays within the family, the future of senior leaders such as Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, and the faction's place in the Mahayuti, become open questions.
Mamata Banerjee's call for a Supreme Court-monitored probe against Sharad Pawar's insistence that it was 'purely an accident' shows how fast tragedy gets politicised — and the effort to contain it.

What to watch — Watch whether the two camps hold their alliance through next month's zilla parishad elections and move towards a formal merger, and what is announced about who leads the faction.

The story does not establish who will lead Ajit's faction, that a merger is settled, or what caused the crash — the succession contest is an assessment, and the investigation is still under way.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 10 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, 66, died on January 28 when his Learjet 45 crashed while landing at the tabletop airstrip in Baramati, his home constituency, on a flight from Mumbai; five people died including both pilots. Ajit had split the Nationalist Congress Party in July 2023, arguing that his uncle Sharad Pawar, 85, should make way for younger leadership, and his faction was awarded the party name and the "clock" symbol by the Election Commission of India in February 2024. By several accounts the two factions were close to reuniting, having contested the January 15 civic polls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad together. His death now opens a succession question in a faction still finding its footing.

Key facts

Ajit Pawar, 66, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, died on January 28 when his Learjet 45 crashed while attempting to land at Baramati's tabletop airstrip on a flight from Mumbai.
Five people were killed in the crash, including both pilots.
Ajit Pawar split the NCP in July 2023, taking senior leaders including Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare with him, and joined the Mahayuti alliance.
He became Deputy Chief Minister for the sixth time after the split.
In February 2024 the Election Commission of India awarded his faction the NCP name and the 'clock' symbol.
Kiran Gujar, an associate of over four decades, said Ajit Pawar told him five days before the crash that a merger with the Sharad Pawar faction was near.
The two factions contested the January 15 civic elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad together and planned to extend the alliance to zilla parishad elections next month.
Mamata Banerjee sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe alleging 'all other agencies' are 'completely compromised'; Sharad Pawar said 'There's no conspiracy involved; it's purely an accident.' The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating.

Timeline

June 1980Sanjay Gandhi, 33, dies flying a Pitts S-2A near Safdarjung airport; inquiry blames poor weather and pilot error.
May 1991Rajiv Gandhi assassinated; Congress leadership later passes to Sonia Gandhi and then Rahul Gandhi.
June 2000Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, 55, dies when his jeep collides with a State transport bus en route to Jaipur airport.
September 2001Madhavrao Scindia dies in a plane crash while flying to a rally in Uttar Pradesh.
March 2002Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi dies in a helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district.
March 2005Haryana ministers O.P. Jindal and Surender Singh killed in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur.
June 2007Former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma dies in a road accident in Rajasthan.
September 2009Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, dies in a helicopter crash in the Nallamala Hills.
April 2011Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu dies in a helicopter crash near Tawang.
June 2014BJP leader Gopinath Munde, 64, dies in a Delhi road accident eight days after taking oath as Union Rural Development Minister.

Who has a stake

Ajit Pawar's NCP faction — Loses its founder-leader while still consolidating; faces a succession contest and possible merger with the parent party.
Sharad Pawar — At 85, frail but politically sharp, he is seen as the only figure who can hold both camps together if a merger happens.
Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar — The succession contest may narrow to Sharad Pawar's daughter and Ajit Pawar's widow, given the family's leadership history.
Mahayuti alliance and Maharashtra government — Loses a Deputy Chief Minister; alliance arithmetic and loyalties within the coalition could be rejigged.
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau — Tasked with investigating the crash amid conspiracy claims and demands for a court-monitored probe.
Mamata Banerjee — Has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe, alleging other agencies are compromised, escalating the political dispute.
Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare — Senior leaders who left the NCP with Ajit Pawar in 2023 and whose political future depends on the faction's direction.

Why it matters

A sudden death at the top of a ruling-coalition party can reopen questions of power, loyalty and succession in a major State, and here it may reverse the very split it caused—pushing the NCP back towards the uncle Ajit Pawar had rebelled against. India's political history, from Sanjay Gandhi to YSR to Madhavrao Scindia, shows how accidental deaths reshape parties and even entire State political systems. It also spotlights aviation safety for VIP travel and the credibility of accident investigations when conspiracy theories follow.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Ajit Pawar, 66, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, died on January 28 in a Learjet 45 crash at Baramati; five dead including both pilots.
The Election Commission of India gave Ajit Pawar's faction the NCP name and 'clock' symbol in February 2024; the split occurred in July 2023.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) investigates aircraft accidents in India.
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a September 2009 helicopter crash in the Nallamala Hills; K. Rosaiah and later N. Kiran Kumar Reddy became CM.
Sanjay Gandhi died in June 1980 flying a Pitts S-2A near Safdarjung airport; inquiry cited poor weather and pilot error.
Air India Flight 171 (Boeing 787 Dreamliner) crashed in June 2025 after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of 242 on board, including former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.

Mains framing

Ajit Pawar's death illustrates how personality-centred and family-centred parties in India remain vulnerable to sudden leadership vacuums. His 2023 split from the NCP was justified on the ground of generational change, yet the faction he built—armed with the party name and 'clock' symbol from February 2024 and a Deputy Chief Ministership in the Mahayuti—had not developed an institutional base independent of him; hence the succession debate immediately narrows to family claimants, Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, rather than senior non-family leaders. Comparable episodes underline the pattern: YSR's death in 2009 triggered Jagan Mohan Reddy's breakaway and the Congress's collapse in Andhra Pradesh, Madhavrao Scindia's 2001 death preceded a long Congress decline in Madhya Pradesh and his son's 2020 defection, while Vijay Rupani's death in 2025 caused little churn in a cadre-based BJP unit—suggesting that internal party organisation, not the death itself, determines the aftermath. A second implication concerns institutional trust: conspiracy theories have followed the crash, with Mamata Banerjee seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe and Sharad Pawar insisting it was purely an accident, placing the burden on the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to deliver a transparent, technically credible finding. The way forward lies in stronger intra-party democracy and second-line leadership, rigorous safety norms for VIP air travel including at tabletop airstrips, and independent, promptly communicated accident investigations that pre-empt political speculation.

Key terms

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): Maharashtra-based party headed by Sharad Pawar; split in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar led senior leaders out.
Mahayuti: The Maharashtra ruling alliance that Ajit Pawar joined after the 2023 split, becoming Deputy Chief Minister for the sixth time.
'Clock' symbol: The NCP's election symbol, awarded along with the party name to Ajit Pawar's faction by the Election Commission in February 2024.
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB): The body now investigating the Baramati Learjet 45 crash that killed Ajit Pawar.
Tabletop airstrip: An airstrip on elevated, plateau-like terrain with steep drops at the ends; the Baramati strip where the crash occurred.
Zilla parishad: District-level rural local body; elections due next month, which both NCP factions had planned to fight in alliance.

Practice questions

Sudden deaths of leaders have repeatedly reshaped Indian State politics. Examine, with examples, why some parties survive such shocks while others fragment.
"Family remains the default succession mechanism in India's regional parties." Critically analyse this statement in the light of the NCP's post-split trajectory.
Discuss the role of the Election Commission of India in deciding disputes over party names and symbols, using the NCP case of February 2024 as an illustration.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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