Don't politicise Ajit Pawar's death, says Sunetra Pawar
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Sunetra Pawar has asked Opposition leaders not to politicise the death of her husband Ajit Pawar, saying no one else can understand the grief of his mother, children and herself. Ajit Pawar and four others died in a plane crash on January 28 this year near Baramati airport in Pune district. She said the family had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and that investigating agencies must be given time. Her remarks followed Supriya Sule's charge that the NCP was enjoying power after the tragedy.
Source
NCP (Ajit Pawar) · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (4)
- Ajit Pawar and four others died in a plane crash on January 28 this year near Baramati airport in Pune district. — Stated as fact in the source with date and location; no investigating authority cited.
- Sunetra Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy CM and current NCP chief, asked Opposition leaders not to politicise her husband's death. — Directly attributed to Sunetra Pawar speaking to reporters on Thursday, with quotes.
- The family met PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and CM Devendra Fadnavis gave his word in the Assembly. — Attributed to Sunetra Pawar; no independent confirmation in source.
- Supriya Sule said no FIR has been registered over Ajit Pawar's death and that NCP's 40 MLAs and eight-nine ministers stayed silent. — Attributed to Sule at a Wednesday press conference; figures are her claim, not verified in source.
Analysts’ view opinion
This is a family tragedy that has hardened into a political question. By asking why no FIR has been registered in Ajit Pawar's death, Supriya Sule is applying moral pressure on the NCP; Sunetra Pawar has pushed back with the emotionally powerful framing of "do not politicise" it. The governing side has chosen the language of stability — faith in the law, the Constitution, and time for investigators — while the Opposition has chosen the language of accountability, a sign that the succession contest between the two Pawar camps is still live.
- As both Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president, Sunetra Pawar combines family sympathy with party authority, which gives her a strong political shield.
- Sule's "where is the FIR" question is a strategy to question the NCP's moral standing by portraying a ruling-coalition partner as silent on its own leader's death.
- Sunetra Pawar's suggestion that a media trial may be under way can be read as an attempt to shift the argument from television studios to the investigating agencies.
- Citing meetings with the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, and the Chief Minister's assurance in the Assembly, signals that the ruling alliance is standing with her.
- How the Pawar family's traditional support base, especially around Baramati, responds to this sympathy-versus-accountability clash matters to both camps.
What to watch — Watch for any concrete government statement or action on the investigation, and whether NCP MLAs and ministers take a public position of their own.
The story does not establish the cause of the crash, whether the Opposition's claim about no FIR is accurate, or what stage the investigation has actually reached.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Maharashtra's then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others died in a plane crash near Baramati airport in Pune district on January 28 this year. His wife Sunetra Pawar is now Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and chief of the NCP. The circumstances of the crash have become a political flashpoint, with NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule — Ajit Pawar's cousin — questioning why no FIR has been registered and alleging that the NCP is "enjoying power" after the tragedy, prompting Sunetra Pawar to appeal against politicisation of the death.
Key facts
- Ajit Pawar, then Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, and four others died in a plane crash on January 28 this year near Baramati airport in Pune district.
- Sunetra Pawar, Ajit Pawar's wife, is the current Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief.
- Sunetra Pawar told reporters in Pune on Thursday: "do not politicise Ajit Dada's accident".
- She said the family has already met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter.
- She said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given his word in the Assembly and is trying to honour it.
- She said investigating agencies are doing their job and must be given time, and questioned whether a "media trial" is being conducted.
- Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) working president, said at a press conference on Wednesday that no FIR has been registered in her cousin Ajit Pawar's death.
- Sule said the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) is part of the current government with 40 MLAs and eight-nine ministers, none of whom demanded an FIR or proper investigation.
Timeline
- January 28, this yearThen Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others die in a plane crash near Baramati airport, Pune district.
- After the crash (date not stated in the source)The family meets PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah; CM Devendra Fadnavis gives his word in the Assembly.
- WednesdaySupriya Sule alleges at a Pune press conference that no FIR has been registered and that the NCP is 'enjoying power'.
- ThursdaySunetra Pawar tells reporters in Pune not to politicise her husband's death and asks that investigating agencies be given time.
- 4 September 2026Report published.
Who has a stake
- Sunetra Pawar — Widow of Ajit Pawar, now Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief; seeks a concrete decision on the crash while resisting political and media pressure.
- Supriya Sule / NCP (SP) — Working president and Ajit Pawar's cousin; demanding an FIR and proper investigation, and using the issue to attack the ruling NCP faction.
- NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) — A ruling partner with 40 MLAs and eight-nine ministers, accused of silence on demands for an FIR into its late leader's death.
- CM Devendra Fadnavis and the Maharashtra government — Has given an assurance in the Assembly on the matter and must be seen to deliver on it.
- Investigating agencies — Tasked with probing the crash; their pace and transparency are now politically contested.
- PM Narendra Modi and HM Amit Shah — Met by the bereaved family, signalling Union-level involvement in decisions following the crash.
Why it matters
The death of a sitting Deputy Chief Minister in a plane crash raises questions of accountability, aviation safety and the credibility of official investigations, and those questions are now entangled in a family and party feud within the Pawar clan. When the demand for an FIR itself becomes a partisan issue, public confidence in the probe and in institutions handling it is at risk. It also shows how personal tragedy in political families can reshape party leadership and alliance politics in Maharashtra.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Ajit Pawar, then Maharashtra Deputy CM, died in a plane crash near Baramati airport, Pune district, on January 28 (year as per source: 'this year').
- Sunetra Pawar is the current Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief.
- Supriya Sule is the working president of the NCP (SP).
- Devendra Fadnavis is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra referred to in the story.
- NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) is part of the Maharashtra government with 40 MLAs and eight-nine ministers, as stated by Supriya Sule.
- An FIR is the first step in registering a cognisable offence; its absence is the core of the Opposition's charge here.
Mains framing
The controversy over Ajit Pawar's death illustrates how the investigation of a high-profile accident can be pulled into political contestation. On one side, Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP) argues that the absence of an FIR and the silence of the ruling NCP's 40 MLAs and eight-nine ministers point to power being prioritised over accountability; on the other, Sunetra Pawar, now Deputy CM and NCP chief, invokes faith in the law and the Constitution, says the family has taken the matter to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, notes the Chief Minister's assurance in the Assembly, and warns against a "media trial" that pre-empts agencies still doing their job. The implications are institutional as much as political: perceived delay or opacity in probing the death of a sitting Deputy Chief Minister erodes trust, while a probe conducted under partisan glare risks being seen as neither independent nor complete. A grounded way forward, on the source's own terms, is transparency about the status of the investigation and time-bound delivery on the commitment made in the Assembly, so that grief and process are not both subordinated to the news cycle.
Key terms
- NCP
- Nationalist Congress Party faction led earlier by Ajit Pawar and now headed by Sunetra Pawar; part of the Maharashtra government.
- NCP (SP)
- The rival Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction, whose working president Supriya Sule is demanding an FIR.
- FIR
- First Information Report — the police document that formally begins an investigation into a cognisable offence.
- Media trial
- Term used by Sunetra Pawar for repeated public commentary that effectively pronounces judgment before an official probe concludes.
- Baramati
- Town in Pune district, near whose airport the plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar and four others occurred.
Practice questions
- Discuss how the politicisation of investigations into high-profile deaths affects public trust in law-enforcement and investigative agencies in India.
- Examine the tension between the media's role in demanding accountability and the risk of a 'media trial' during an ongoing investigation.
- Family-based factionalism has become a defining feature of regional party politics in India. Critically analyse with reference to recent developments in Maharashtra.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.