Ajit Pawar funeral with full state honours in Baramati where he died in a plane crash. Photo: Ajit Pawar Facebook & Screen-grabMaharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s funeral is underway in Baramati on Thursday, following a tragic plane crash on Wednesday morning that claimed his life along with four others onboard. Thousands of supporters gathered at Baramati’s Vidya Pratishthan ground, where the funeral, which began at 9 am, was attended by Pawar’s immediate family—wife Sunetra and sons Parth and Jay—alongside his uncle and former Chief Minister Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar, 66, who led his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati for a political campaign. In 2023, Pawar led a split in the NCP and joined the BJP–Shiv Sena-led government under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a move that reshaped Maharashtra’s political landscape.