The deputy chief minister of India’s western state of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, was killed on Wednesday when a chartered aircraft carrying him crashed and burst into flames, according to the country’s aviation regulator and local television reports.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said all five people on board the aircraft — Pawar, two members of his staff, and two crew — were killed in the crash. “No person on board has survived,” the regulator said in an initial statement.
Pawar, a senior political figure from a prominent family, was travelling from Mumbai to his home region of Baramati to campaign for local body elections, media reports said. The aircraft reportedly attempted an emergency landing near Baramati, about 250 kilometres from the financial capital, before going down.
Video footage aired on television showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the wreckage, which was scattered across an open field.
A key ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Maharashtra, Pawar led a faction that broke away from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party in 2023 to support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government.
Prime Minister Modi expressed condolences in a post on X, saying he was saddened by the tragic crash and offering sympathies to the families of those killed. He said his thoughts were with the bereaved and prayed for strength and courage for them in their time of grief.
The crash comes amid heightened attention on aviation safety in India. Last week, an Indian Air Force training aircraft crashed in Uttar Pradesh, though both pilots survived. In July 2025, more than 200 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff, marking the deadliest aviation disaster globally in a decade.