Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis on Wednesday January 28th 2026 announced a state holiday and three days of mourning following the demise of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash.
The Chief Minister said, "Today we have declared a state holiday, and three days of state mourning have also been announced. This is a completely irreparable loss for the whole state of Maharashtra."
The NCP chief died in a charter plane crash while travelling from Mumbai to Bramati. He was in Mumbai on January 27th, where he attended a meeting of the Maharashtra Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Ajit Pawar, 66, was the nephew of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule.
Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde. He is survived by his wife, Sunetra Pawar, and two sons, Jay and Parth Pawar.
