Ajit Pawar: The Chief Minister Maharashtra never got

It was a day of mourning for the political fraternity of Maharashtra - if not India, as senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar tragically lost his life in a plane crash. The incident occurred in Maharashtra’s Baramati, the same place where Pawar started his political journey. An aspiring leader and true people’s favourite, Pawar was famously called “Dada” (elder brother in Marathi) for his leadership and social involvement, while also becoming the face of the NCP (after his separation from uncle Sharad Pawar) since 2023.

Pawar’s death also means Maharashtra will never see its beloved leader take the Chief Minister post, something he had aspired to become before tragedy struck in the morning of 28 Jan 2026. Dada was a renowned figure in Indian politics and famously wrote several chapters during his political career, including a rebellion against his uncle, Sharad Pawar, in 2023 and taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in November 2019.

Dada’s rise

Having successfully contested the 1991 Baramati Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament), Ajit Pawar vacated his seat in less than 60 days for his uncle Sharad, who was appointed Defence Minister by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. He would then start a new chapter in state politics, winning the Baramati Legislative seat in the 1991 state elections. He would serve the seat until his death, carrying on a winning legacy and interestingly never losing an election.

Pawar’s first term as minister came early at the age of 33 when then CM Sudhakarrao Naik appointed him Minister of State for Agriculture and Power. He would later serve as cabinet minister in governments led by Sharad Pawar, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.

Dada’s golden era

In 2010, after then-CM Ashok Chavan was asked to vacate his post for corruption charges, a new government was formed in Maharashtra led by Prithviraj Chavan. While it was anticipated that Chhagan Bhujbal be retained as Dy CM, it was the internal support that saw Pawar become the front-runner and become the new deputy in the state.

However, Pawar’s eyes were always on the big throne of the state and he would make desperate attempts to come into power.

First attempt to be CM

In the build-up to the 2014 Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Pawar advocated the idea of running for all 288 seats rather than forming an alliance with the Indian National Congress (INC). The decision was made officially on the same evening when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) broke its pre-election alliance with Shivsena. This was Pawar’s opportunity to become the kingmaker and if not the king in Maharashtra. However, the BJP’s success and their ideology to form a government with Shivsena saw Pawar and Co sit on the opposition bench despite having 41 seats.

ALSO READ | Was Ajit Pawar’s body identified by his watch? What we know about tragic plane crash

The near miss

In the aftermath of the 2019 Assembly elections, a period of political turmoil saw the BJP split with Shivsena as the latter was set to form a government with Congress and the NCP. Ajit Pawar was elected as the leader of the house for NCP and was advocated as the CM candidate by party leaders. However, uncle Sharad’s preference to support Uddhav Thackeray to become CM saw Pawar take the back seat.

As an act of rebellion against uncle Sharad, Ajit Pawar and his supporting MLAs would support the BJP and form a government, which lasted mere three days before Devendra Fadnavis resigned. The formation of the government with the BJP became a huge front-page story while Thackeray was chosen as the CM face by the new alliance of Shivsena, Congress and NCP. Pawar threatened to return unless he was promised the CM post. However, in the coming days after the turmoil, Pawar had to settle for a Deputy CM post in the Thackeray-led government.

It was the closest he came to becoming the CM of Maharashtra and was never in the running thereafter with the BJP emerging as the powerhouse in the coming years.

The admission

In a political rally in 2025, Pawar openly admitted that had he been offered the CM post in 2019, he would have stayed with the BJP. Interestingly, this statement came after the BJP supported Eknath Shinde to become the CM of the state in 2022. Shinde had famously rebelled against Shivsena party leader Uddhav Thackeray and supported the BJP in government formation, a move similar to Pawar when he supported Devendra Fadnavis in the aftermath of the 2019 Assembly elections.

Unfortunately for Pawar, he was never offered the CM post like Shinde and missed out on the throne.

ALSO READ | Exact moment when Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's aircraft crashed: CCTV footage here

The legacy

Despite the near misses, Pawar goes down as one of the respected and legendary political figures in the state of Maharashtra. He served as the deputy CM of the state a record six times and worked under a record nine chief ministers during his tenure. As mentioned, he never lost any elections at the individual level and served for the state until his death on Jan 28.

Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer