The tragic plane crash that claimed the life of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar has ignited a political storm in the state, with Shiv Sena (UBT) raising suspicions of foul play surrounding the incident.
The crash, which occurred in Baramati, comes at a time when merger talks were underway between the two warring factions of the NCP—one led by Ajit Pawar and the other by his uncle, Sharad Pawar.
Sanjay Raut, a senior leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), a constituent of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, expressed doubt over the circumstances surrounding Ajit Pawar’s death and called for a thorough investigation into the crash. Raut alleged that the BJP had threatened Ajit Pawar with files related to the irrigation scam after he showed interest in merging the two NCP factions.
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“Something did happen behind the curtains. Ajit Dada had expressed his desire to 'return home,' after which BJP people allegedly threatened him with files from the Sinchan Scam. Ajit Pawar responded to these threats regarding the same files, and just 10 days later, he died mysteriously. What do we understand from this? This reminds us of Justice Loya’s case. Did someone do something here?” Raut questioned.
Raut raised further concerns about the circumstances of Ajit Pawar’s death, stating that new facts about the incident were emerging. He also emphasised that questions needed to be raised.
“Questions will indeed be raised on the accident of Ajit Dada; questions should indeed be raised. The manner in which a leader like Ajit Pawar, a tall leader of Maharashtra, died in a plane crash and the facts which are coming to light - it should be investigated, I think there is something dubious here. These questions are being raised by Ajit Dada's party. His death is suspicious,” Raut said
Earlier, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar revealed that discussions regarding the reunification of the two NCP factions had been ongoing for several months, with Ajit Pawar setting February 12 as the target date for the merger.
There have been rumors suggesting that the sudden appointment of Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, as Deputy Chief Minister by the BJP-led Mahayuti was an attempt to derail the merger of the two NCP factions.
Ajit Pawar, 66, the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was en route to Baramati for a rally ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections when his chartered aircraft crashed and caught fire on January 28.
