Supriya Sule Devastated by Ajit Pawar’s Death
NCP-SP leader rushes to Baramati after cousin and Deputy CM dies in plane crash
- Supriya Sule says she is “devastated” by Ajit Pawar’s death
- Pawar died in an aircraft crash in Baramati on Tuesday morning
- Sule, Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar on way to Baramati
- Family rivalry had political roots but personal ties remained
GG News Bureau
Pune, 28th Jan: Nationalist Congress Party–Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday said she was “devastated” by the tragic death of her cousin and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was killed in an aircraft crash in Baramati.
Sule, who is Ajit Pawar’s cousin, expressed her grief through a brief message on her WhatsApp status, writing, “Devastated.”
Sule, along with NCP leader Praful Patel, Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, and son Parth Pawar, left for Baramati after the aircraft carrying Pawar and five others crash-landed at Baramati airport, killing all six people on board.
Ajit Pawar, 66, was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 zilla parishad elections. The aircraft crashed at around 8.50 am, according to police officials.
For decades, the Pawar family has played a central role in Maharashtra’s cooperative movement, rural politics and shifting power equations in both Mumbai and Delhi. However, the family witnessed a major political split in 2023, when Ajit Pawar led a breakaway faction of the NCP to join the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance, separating from uncle Sharad Pawar’s camp.
At the time, critics said the rift was linked to the growing prominence of Supriya Sule within the party. A Member of Parliament from Baramati and a national face of the NCP-SP, Sule was seen as a prominent and nationally oriented leader.
Despite the political split, Sule had repeatedly said there were no personal differences with Ajit Pawar. “Relationships shouldn’t come in between politics. The fight between the NCP and Ajit Pawar is ideological and not personal,” she had said earlier.
More recently, ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, Sule had again stated that there were no issues within the family.
Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Sharad Pawar’s NCP-SP had also contested recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together, reflecting continued political coordination despite past divisions.
