Hours before Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash near Baramati the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister reached out to Maharashtra residents in what seemed to be a routine message on X - a post outlining decisions taken by "your trusted" state government.
The list included notes on setting up vocational training institutes, tweaks to payments systems for contractors working with the Public Works Department, and the extension of lease periods for government land allotted to various departments or even private initiatives.
At first glance it is, indeed, a routine message. Pawar, a senior member of the state administration, was simply informing citizens of work his government had done so far.
Scratch that surface, though, and there is more.
It indicated an apparent return to normality despite sharp differences within the ruling Mahayuti, an alliance led by his boss Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in the run-up to municipal elections this month in Mumbai and 28 cities, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Pawar had been sidelined by the BJP for this round of elections; the saffron party, ever watchful of its allies and of the impact they may have on its electoral fortunes, had shuffled his NCP faction to a side when deciding seat-sharing arrangements, arguing that its insistence on fronting Nawab Malik, who faces corruption allegations, as its point man for the Mumbai poll.
Sidelined by his 'ally', Ajit Pawar reached out to his uncle and offered to bury the family feud in exchange for an understanding to contest the Pune and Pimpri elections together.
The idea, sources told NDTV then, was simple and it was win-win for Ajit Pawar.
Victory would reinforce his criticality to the Mahayuti, certainly within its familial strongholds. And defeat would serve as a valuable teaching moment as he pondered striking out on his own.
Pawar campaigned heavily against the BJP, accusing it of corruption and arrogance, and even referred to allegations against him - the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam that seemed to vanish after he joined the larger party's ranks in July 2023.
As it turned out, though, the result was neither.
The 'reunited' Pawar family was thumped by the BJP in both elections, meaning Ajit Pawar was neither really needed nor, it seemed, wanted, and there was little he could do about it.
And then, election over, Pawar returned to his Deputy Chief Minister's office in Mumbai and to the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, although the power equations had certainly changed.
