Three days of mourning have been declared in the Indian state of Maharashtra after the death of the state’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was killed when his plane went down in flames on Wednesday. Over his career, Pawar was deputy chief minister of the state six times, under various coalition governments. Born into a political family, in 1980 he had joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was formed by his uncle Sharad Pawar. Pawar was named deputy chief minister once again after the BJP-led alliance won the 2024 state elections. After his death, questions now remain over who will be his successor and if the NCP party factions will be reunited.