"Ajit Pawar Was Pillar Of Strength": Ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister To NDTV

Ajit Pawar was a “pillar of strength” for the Mahayuti government, Maharashtra's former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said.

Ajit Pawar, the state's deputy chief minister, died on Wednesday after his aircraft crash landed at Baramati airport in Pune. The NCP chief was travelling in a Learjet 45 chartered from Mumbai to campaign for local elections. The aircraft caught fire on landing and exploded, killing all five people on board.

“He was a pillar of strength to the Devendra Fadnavis government,” Chavan told NDTV.

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"He was Mahayuti's strength": Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan (@prithvrj) to NDTV's @PadmajaJoshi #AjitPawar pic.twitter.com/CdQ0Zu8J1q

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Despite being on opposite sides of the political spectrum in recent years, Chavan acknowledged Ajit Pawar's role in Maharashtra politics. “We were together in an alliance at one point and against each other in different formations. After 2019, when he split from the parent NCP and joined the BJP, we were again on opposite sides,” he said, adding that the two parties were contesting against each other in the ongoing local elections.

Chavan recalled their years working together when he served as chief minister from 2010, with Pawar as his deputy. “We were together for four-and-a-half years. We had our ups and downs, but we took many important decisions in the interest of Maharashtra, many of which I would not have been able to take without his active support,” he said.

“He was impetuous at times and wanted things done without delay. We had differences, but we managed to work together,” Chavan said.

Pawar also served as finance minister under several chief ministers and presented multiple state budgets over the years. He was preparing to present another Maharashtra budget in the coming days, even as he juggled campaign responsibilities for rural local body elections. “He was shuffling both responsibilities, rushing to Baramati for political meetings and returning to Mumbai for budget-related discussions,” Chavan said.

Asked what he would remember about Ajit Pawar, Chavan said, “His punctuality, his hard work, and his decisiveness will always remain in my mind.”

“He was extremely hardworking, extremely punctual, and extremely decisive. He never missed a meeting. If a meeting was to start at 10 am, he would be there at 9:55,” Chavan said. Pawar, he added, demanded the same discipline from officials.

“He was very matter-of-fact in meetings, never fiddling with papers, pens, or his phone, but completely focused on the issue at hand. By the end of the meeting, there was always a decision. That was his decisiveness,” Chavan said.

He also recalled an episode when Ajit Pawar resigned as deputy chief minister after differences over certain decisions, believing he was being targeted. “He stayed out of the government for some time, but Sharad Pawar and I persuaded him to return, which he did after about a month,” he said.

Chavan traced their political journey through alliances and splits, noting that after 2019, Pawar broke away from the parent NCP and joined the BJP-led alliance. “Even in the current Zilla Parishad elections, his party and ours are fighting against each other,” he said.

On the future of the NCP, Chavan said a merger of the rival factions was inevitable given their shrinking vote base. Still he said it was too early to speculate on leadership. “Everything is still uncertain. We are all in a state of shock,” he said.

Chavan credited Pawar with transforming Baramati into a modern township, educational and research hub. Baramati's transformation was largely Ajit Pawar's work, he said. “He looked after the constituency on behalf of Sharad Pawar and later in his own right.”