- Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash near Baramati, Maharashtra on Wednesday
- Opposition leaders alleged conspiracy and questioned the accident's circumstances
- Responding to Raut's comments, the BJP played down all allegations
The death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar in a plane crash near Maharashtra's Baramati has triggered a political storm that shows little sign of abating. Opposition leaders have questioned the circumstances of the accident and alleged a conspiracy.
Pawar, 66, died on Wednesday when the aircraft he was travelling in crashed in Baramati, in Pune district. His death has left a vacuum within the NCP and injected uncertainty into Maharashtra politics, particularly at a time when talks of a possible reunification between the two rival NCP factions had begun to gather momentum.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut questioned the circumstances behind Pawar's death.
"Questions should be raised about Ajit Pawar's accident. These questions are being raised even within his own party. There's something fishy about this. Something must have happened behind the scenes," he said.
"Ajit Pawar was about to return to his old house, but the BJP said they had the irrigation files. Then a mysterious accident occurred. Ajit Pawar made a statement a few days ago that he had some files on BJP leaders, and then accidents immediately followed. I've had my suspicions since day one. It was ingrained in my mind then. This means Ajit Pawar decided to leave the NDA. These people are suspicious. I will raise this issue in Parliament," the Sena leader said.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar questioned the speed with which political succession discussions began within the NCP following Pawar's death.
"Ajit Dada's sudden death could be a conspiracy. This is a plot, and it should be investigated. A conspiracy was hatched somewhere to prevent the two NCP factions from coming together, and that's why the Deputy Chief Minister's post was filled in such a hurry. Politics has become very dirty. Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel initiated Ajit Dada's inclusion in the NDA because they wanted to sleep peacefully at night," he said.
Responding to Raut's comments, BJP leader Ujjwal Nikam played down all allegations.
"The allegations are all false. It's shameful that they are doing such petty politics on the departed soul. We all know it was an accident. It is a pure accident, and I don't think there is any conspiracy," he said.
On Wednesday morning, Pawar, who was serving as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister and leading the NCP faction aligned with the BJP-led Mahayuti, died in a plane crash. Just three days later, on Saturday evening, his wife Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister.
