Banerjee had hinted that Ajit Pawar was planning to return to the Nationalist Congress Party faction NCP (SP), noting that reports circulating in recent days had pointed to such a move. Veteran leader Sharad Pawar, in his first reaction after his nephew Ajit Pawar and four others were killed in the plane crash, said, "A stand was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. "He (Ajit Pawar) was a big leader, served as a deputy chief minister many times, and a popular leader of Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar (66) and four others were killed after an aircraft carrying them crash-landed at the Baramati airport. A team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has reached the Baramati crash site to launch a forensic probe into the accident.