'While many politicians speak of development, Dada worked hard for it.' 'He realised that politics wasn't about power or politics -- it was about service to the people.'
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
Pinky Mali was an attendant on the Learjet 46, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, that crash-landed at the Baramati airport
'Because of him, we learned how to work for people, how to take responsibility, and how to stand by our decisions.'
'Deeply shocked and terribly heartbroken to learn that we have lost Ajit Dada in a tragic accident.'
Ajit's uncle and NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, however, has urged people not to politicise the death of his nephew.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has questioned whether VSR Ventures owner V K Singh is attempting to blame the pilot for the Learjet crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others in January. Pawar cites media reports about Singh's purported submission to the CID, raising concerns about the investigation's transparency.
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar has raised concerns about the statement given by VSR Ventures owner V K Singh to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) regarding the plane crash that killed former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others. Pawar questions whether Singh is attempting to blame the pilot for the accident.
'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, were held with full state honors in Baramati. Prominent leaders and thousands of mourners attended the funeral.
Popularly known as 'Ajit Dada', he was known to say things as they were, without couching it in any soft padding.
NCP MP Sunil Tatkare's remarks came amid the suspense over a merger of the two NCP factions
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar has raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash and plans to provide a detailed presentation on the matter.
Rohit Pawar highlighted the atmosphere of suspicion, grief, and political intrigue currently surrounding these events in Maharashtra. He mentioned an investigation into the accident, citing a book that suggests killing a person's driver is an easy way to target them.
'The entire Pawar family -- Sunetra Vahini, Jay and Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar's sons), Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule -- will sit together and decide how to move forward.'
A close associate of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar claims that Pawar was actively pursuing a merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions before his death. The associate, Kiran Gujar, stated that Pawar had indicated the merger was imminent just days before a fatal plane crash.
Ajit Pawar granted Rediff an interview in Baramati at 6 am. Why? 'To be a successful politician one needs to sleep less, and I never sleep for more than 4 hours' Ajit Pawar told Syed Firdaus Ashraf as Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff captured the encounter on his camera.
Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif admitted that Ajit Pawar was holding talks with NCP (SP) leaders on the merger of the two factions before his death.
Mumbai Cricket Association president Ajinkya Naik hailed Ajit Pawar for taking firm stands to help the association
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
It isn't easy for a girl from Gopal Nagar to chase a dream. But Pinky was extremely determined. A force unto herself, she was going to go places. Literally. Till it abruptly ended one morning on the tarmac at Baramati airport.
Sunetra Pawar, widow of late Ajit Pawar, is set to be sworn in as Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister, replacing her husband in the state cabinet. Her appointment follows a meeting of the NCP legislature wing where she is expected to be named as its leader.
Sunetra Pawar, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, will be elected as leader of the legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, after which she is likely to take oath as deputy CM.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar Maharashtra unit president Shashikant Shinde on Saturday said his party chief Sharad Pawar and other leaders had no prior knowledge about the decision that Nationalist Congress Party's Sunetra Pawar would take oath as the state deputy chief minister.
Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar should refrain from criticising the saffron outfit and not force it to open 'pages from the past'.
With Ajit Pawar's passing, the 40 MLAs who remain will now have to decide whether they want to continue in Mahayuti in the company of the BJP and Shiv Sena -- or return to the Sharad Pawar fold.
'A poor candidate was given a chance so that the concerns of ordinary, needy citizens could be represented.'
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan criticized Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's allegations of corruption in the Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, suggesting they are politically motivated ahead of upcoming elections.
'I do not know why he went to Delhi because I have not been in touch with him for months now and I would not be able to give an answer why he visited Delhi'
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
A video has surfaced of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar purportedly chiding a woman IPS officer who was taking action against illegal excavation of 'murrum' soil in Solapur district. NCP claims Pawar didn't intend to stop the action but might have berated the officer to placate party workers.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Suraj Chavan on Sunday took objection to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the probe into the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the names of the probable ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party in his cabinet have been shortlisted and the final decision will be taken by the party's central leadership.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar's mother Sunanda has emphasised the need for party factions led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to come together as voices for unity emerged from both rival camps.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Election fever has reached its peak in Baramati in the last phase of the campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls with the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar leaving no stone unturned.
The press conference of the Mahayuti allies in Mumbai after they staked claim to form government in Maharashtra witnessed some banter thanks to Ajit Pawar, a 'veteran' deputy chief minister.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support. He also said the Mahayuti government secured a majority in the recent elections. Shinde said that when he was the chief minister, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team. He added that he will now be "dedicated to the common man" 24 x 7. In the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony, officials were instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Shinde also rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made chief minister. He pointed out that 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him when he led a revolt in 2022, and today, the party has 57 MLAs, which he asserted was a seal of approval from the people. Shinde was given a rousing welcome at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane, following the swearing-in ceremony. Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
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