'Hypocrisy wasn't his nature': Eknath Shinde mourns 'elder brother' Ajit Pawar's death in tragic Baramati crash

On Wednesday (Jan 28), Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in an aircraft crash which all five onboard. Eknath Shinde, who shared the post with Pawar wrote an emotional note on his untimely demise. A “mountain of grief has collapsed upon Maharashtra,” Shinde wrote. Days after winning the election from the Pawar stronghold, he departed from Mumbai at around 8:10 AM, and during the landing, which was scheduled at 8:50, the aircraft crashed. This led to a massive ball of fire that engulfed it, that is how onlookers described the incident. These are details as per initial findings; the investigation is underway, and the reason for the crash is yet to be ascertained.

“It is an extremely painful and shocking day. The shock of the passing of Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has hit the entire state of Maharashtra, and for me, it's personal. We have lost a generous-hearted, affable, accomplished, studious, and straightforward leader today. Ajitdada was older than me in age and also in political experience. I am saddened to have lost an excellent colleague and, beyond that, an elder brother," Shinde added, who is the sole deputy CM of the state after the disastrous crash.

He went on to say “will do, will see, will tell” Pawar never used these phrases. He added, “As an MLA, MP, and minister, Ajitdada made his illustrious political career shine through his own merit. For the past 40 years, dada maintained his dominance in politics. Ajitdada adorned the position of Deputy Chief Minister six times. In the portfolios of finance, planning, irrigation, water resources, and energy, he did noteworthy and people-oriented work. He had thorough knowledge of agriculture and the cooperative sector. He had an accurate grasp of economic developments. He understood Maharashtra's political-social issues.”

Shinde mentioned how Pawar’s opinions were sharp and would not shy from pointing out a mistake and when necessary would also give a piece of his mind. Hypocrisy wasn’t his nature, he believed in straightforward speech with that he had an extremely pure heart, Shinde noted.