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    EYE ON INDIA                                                       FEBRUARY 06, 2026       |  The Indian Eye                    6

                              Ajit Pawar’s Death Leaves

             Maharashtra in a Political Vacuum,

                              Fuels Conspiracy Theories

             The sudden demise of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has unsettled Maharashtra’s political

                     balance, triggering intense speculation, demands for transparency and a scramble
                                                        for succession across party lines.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            Minister Fadnavis that the Air-
                                                                                                                  craft Accident Investigation Bureau
            Mumbai / Baramati
                                                                                                                  (AAIB) has initiated a formal probe.
                  he  untimely  death  of Maha-                                                                   The aircraft’s black box has been se-
                  rashtra Deputy Chief Minister                                                                   cured,  and  officials  have  confirmed
            TAjit Pawar in a plane crash has                                                                      that both the voice recorder and
            plunged the state into a rare political                                                               flight data recorder have been recov-
            vacuum, unsettling alliances, expos-                                                                  ered.  A  time-bound  and  transpar-
            ing fault lines within parties and giv-                                                               ent investigation, conducted under
            ing rise to conspiracy theories that                                                                  the Aircraft Accident and Incident
            now swirl alongside public grief. As                                                                  Rules, has been promised. The Pune
            tributes pour in and investigations get                                                               Rural Police have also registered an
            underway, Pawar’s absence is being                                                                    Accidental Death Report and begun
            felt not just as a personal loss but as a                                                             parallel inquiries.
            destabilising moment for Maharash-                                                                        Despite these assurances, the
            tra’s power structure.                                                                                political impact of Pawar’s death is
                Union Home Minister Amit                                                                          already visible. His absence comes at
            Shah, who paid his last respects to           BJP National President Nitin Nabin offers his condolences to    a sensitive moment, with local body
            Pawar, captured the prevailing sen-                                                                   elections underway and broader re-
            timent when he described the loss as   NCP Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar during the last rites of her husband and Maharashtra   alignments  expected  in  the  coming
            a void in Maharashtra’s politics that            Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday (ANI)   months. As a leader who could mo-
            would be “impossible to fill for a long                                                               bilise cadres and influence rural and
            time.” Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday   the political ramifications are unfold-  Beyond  party  equations,  the   cooperative networks, Pawar played
            morning when the chartered aircraft   ing rapidly. Ajit Pawar was not mere-  manner of his death has fuelled spec-  a crucial role in electoral arithmetic.
            he  was  travelling  in  crash-landed   ly a Deputy Chief Minister; he was a   ulation and conspiracy theories, am-  His death may alter campaign dy-
            near the runway while attempting to   seasoned power broker, a mass lead-  plified  by  social  media  and  political   namics, especially in regions where
            land at Baramati airport in Pune dis-  er with deep roots in western Maha-  rhetoric. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader   his  personal  influence  outweighed
            trict.  The  accident,  which  occurred   rashtra and a figure who often held   Sanjay  Raut  has  openly  questioned   party labels.
            around 8.48 am, killed all five people   the key to government stability. His   whether the crash was the result of   There is also the question of gov-
            on board, including Pawar’s person-  ability to straddle factions, manage   technical  failures,  radar  issues  or   ernance. As Deputy Chief Minister,
            al security officer, a flight attendant   organisational machinery and deliver   airport-related lapses, insisting that   Pawar handled key portfolios and act-
            and two pilots. He was en route from   electoral outcomes made him indis-  condolences alone are not enough.   ed as a bridge between the state lead-
            Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for   pensable in a state known for com-  Drawing parallels with previous char-  ership and grassroots networks. Re-
            the Zilla Panchayat elections.    plex coalition politics.          tered flight accidents, Raut demand-  placing  such  institutional memory  is
                The scale of the mourning         That indispensability now raises   ed that the truth be placed before the   not easy, and any transition risks creat-
            was evident at his last rites, held   uncomfortable  questions:  who  fills   public to prevent future tragedies.  ing friction within the ruling setup. Po-
            with full state honours at the Vidya   the vacuum, and at what cost? With-  Such statements reflect a broad-  litical observers note that Maharashtra
            Pratishthan ground in Baramati. Se-  in the Nationalist Congress Party, al-  er undercurrent of mistrust, particu-  has often seen instability when strong
            nior leaders cutting across political   ready fractured by past splits, Pawar’s   larly in a politically charged environ-  personalities exit abruptly, whether
            divides — including Chief Minister   absence reopens unresolved succes-  ment where high-profile deaths rarely   through defeat, defection or death.
            Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister   sion debates. Fauzia Khan, NCP-SCP   escape scrutiny. While there is no ev-  For  now,  the  state  stands  at  an
            Nitin  Gadkari,  NCP  (Sharadchan-  MP and a long-time associate, de-  idence of foul play, the demand for   uneasy crossroads — united in grief
            dra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar and   scribed him as “the elder brother of   transparency has grown louder, partly   but divided by uncertainty. The inves-
            actor Riteish Deshmukh — gathered   Maharashtra” and a skilled organiser   because of Pawar’s stature and partly   tigation into the crash will be closely
            alongside thousands of supporters.   who could balance ideology, rela-  because of the frequency of aviation   watched, not only for answers about
            Pawar’s sons, Parth and Jay, lit the   tionships and governance. Her words   accidents involving chartered aircraft.  the tragedy but also for reassurance
            funeral pyre, while his wife Sunetra   underline a reality that many in the   The government has moved   in an atmosphere thick with suspi-
            Pawar, a Rajya Sabha MP, stood by   party privately acknowledge — Pawar   swiftly to address these concerns.   cion. At the same time, parties will
            amid visible public grief.        was often the glue holding competing   Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan   quietly begin recalibrating strategies,
                Yet even as Maharashtra mourns,   ambitions together.           Naidu Kinjarapu  informed  Chief   even as they publicly mourn.

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