Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar
Ajit Pawar
	Pawar in 2024
8th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
	In office; 5 December 2024 – 28 January 2026 Serving with Eknath Shinde
Governor	C. P. Radhakrishnan; Acharya Devvrat (additional charge);
Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Planning; State Excise; Sports and Youth Welfare (additional charge); Minority Development and Aukaf (additional charge);
Preceded by	Devendra Fadnavis
Governor
Other positions
8th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
	In office; 2 July 2023 – 5 December 2024 Serving with Devendra Fadnavis
Governor	Ramesh Bais; C. P. Radhakrishnan
Chief Minister	Eknath Shinde
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Planning;
Preceded by	Devendra Fadnavis
	In office; 30 December 2019 – 29 June 2022
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief Minister	Uddhav Thackeray
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Planning; State Excise (additional charge);
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	Devendra Fadnavis
	In office; 23 November 2019 – 26 November 2019
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Chief Minister	Devendra Fadnavis
Ministry and Departments	Minister without Portfolio;
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Himself
	In office; 25 October 2012 – 26 September 2014
Governor	Om Prakash Kohli (additional charge); C. Vidyasagar Rao;
Chief Minister	Prithviraj Chavan
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Planning; Energy;
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	President's rule
	In office; 10 November 2010 – 25 September 2012
Governor	K. Sankaranarayanan;
Chief Minister	Prithviraj Chavan
Ministry and Departments	Finance; Planning; Energy;
Preceded by	Chhagan Bhujbal
Succeeded by	Himself
23rd Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
	In office; 4 July 2022 – 2 July 2023
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Ramesh Bais;
Deputy	Balasaheb Thorat
Chief Minister	Eknath Shinde
Speaker	Zirwal Narhari Sitaram (acting); Rahul Narwekar;
Preceded by	Devendra Fadnavis
Succeeded by	Jitendra Awhad (acting); ; Balasaheb Thorat (additional charge); Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar
Leader of the House in Maharashtra Legislative Council
	In office; 24 February 2020 – 29 June 2022
Governor	Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Deputy	Subhash Desai
Chairman	Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar
Preceded by	Chandrakant Patil; Subhash Desai (acting);
Succeeded by	Devendra Fadnavis
	In office; 11 November 2010 – 25 September 2012
Governor	K. Sankaranarayanan
Chairman	Shivajirao Deshmukh
Preceded by	Chhagan Bhujbal
Succeeded by	R. R. Patil
Cabinet Minister in Government of Maharashtra
	In office; 7 November 2009 – 10 November 2010
Governor	S. C. Jamir; K. Sankaranarayanan;
Ministry and Departments	Water Resources; Krishna Valley Irrigation Corporation; Energy;
Chief Minister	Ashok Chavan
Preceded by	Sunil Tatkare; Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar;
Succeeded by	Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar; Sunil Tatkare;
	In office; 8 December 2008 – 6 November 2009
Governor	S. C. Jamir;
Ministry and Departments	Water Resources; Water Supply; Sanitation Command Area Development;
Chief Minister	Ashok Chavan
	In office; 9 November 2004 – 1 December 2008
Governor	Mohammed Fazal; S. M. Krishna; S. C. Jamir;
Ministry and Departments	Water Resources; Excluding Krishna Valley Corporation;
Chief Minister	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Succeeded by
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
	In office; 29 August 1991 – 28 January 2026
Preceded by	Sharad Pawar
Constituency	Baramati
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
	In office; 3 May 1991 – 20 June 1991
Preceded by	Shankarrao Bajirao Patil
Succeeded by	Sharad Pawar
Constituency	Baramati
President of Nationalist Congress Party
	In office; 30 June 2023 – 28 January 2026
Preceded by	Sharad Pawar
Succeeded by	TBA
Personal details
Born	Ajit Anantrao Pawar; 22 July 1959; Deolali Pravara, Ahmednagar district, Bombay State, India
Died	28 January 2026 (aged 66); Baramati, Maharashtra, India
Cause of death	Aircraft accident
Political party	Nationalist Congress Party
Other political; affiliations	National Democratic Alliance (2023–2026); United Progressive Alliance (2004–2022)
Spouse(s)	Sunetra Pawar (m. 1985)
Children	2
Residence	9, Premcourt Churchgate, Mumbai;
Occupation	Politician
Website	www.ajitpawar.org

Ajit Anantrao Pawar (22 July 1959 – 28 January 2026) was an Indian politician. He was Maharashtra's longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister from December 2024 until his death in January 2026.^[2]^[3] He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2022 to 2023 and represented Baramati Lok Sabha constituency in 1991.^[4]

On 28 January 2026, Pawar was killed in an airplane crash at the Baramati Airport in Maharashtra, India.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

References

↑ "Not Accepted Happily: Sharad Pawar On Devendra Fadnavis's Number 2 Post". NDTV.com.
↑ "In Ajit Pawar's Shock Switch, A Sharad Pawar Question Ahead of 2024". NDTV.
↑ Deshpande, Abhinay (2024-12-05). "Ajit Pawar breaks records as deputy CM, but his long quest for the top job remains unfulfilled". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
↑ "Ajit Pawar new Opposition leader in Maharashtra assembly | India News". The Times of India. 4 July 2022.
↑ "Ajit Pawar: Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state dies in plane crash". www.bbc.com. 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
↑ "Ajit Pawar's Flight Crash in Baramati dist Pune". CNN-News18. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
↑ "Ajit Pawar Passed Away: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister dies in plane crash near Baramati". Lokmat. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
↑ "Air charter crash in India's Maharashtra kills key state leader". Reuters. January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 28, 2026.

[1] "Not Accepted Happily: Sharad Pawar On Devendra Fadnavis's Number 2 Post". NDTV.com.

[2] "In Ajit Pawar's Shock Switch, A Sharad Pawar Question Ahead of 2024". NDTV.

[3] Deshpande, Abhinay (2024-12-05). "Ajit Pawar breaks records as deputy CM, but his long quest for the top job remains unfulfilled". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-11-20.

[4] "Ajit Pawar new Opposition leader in Maharashtra assembly | India News". The Times of India. 4 July 2022.

[5] "Ajit Pawar: Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state dies in plane crash". www.bbc.com. 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-28.

[6] "Ajit Pawar's Flight Crash in Baramati dist Pune". CNN-News18. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.

[7] "Ajit Pawar Passed Away: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister dies in plane crash near Baramati". Lokmat. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.

[8] "Air charter crash in India's Maharashtra kills key state leader". Reuters. January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 28, 2026.

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