Ajit Pawar's mother Asha Tai was watching TV when his plane crashed: Here's what the staff did next

When the plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed at 8.45 am on Wednesday morning, his mother Ashatai Pawar was watching television. When the news of the plane crash flashed on TV, Asha Tai asked the farmhouse manager Sampat Dhaigude, "Has Dada met with an accident?". The staff quickly disconnected the TV cable and put her phone on flight mode in a bid to prevent her from hearing the tragic news of her son's death. They also put her mobile phone on flight mode and told her that nothing had happened.

Speaking to media, Sampat Dhaigude said, "We told her nothing had happened, but she insisted on seeing Ajit Pawar. Then came the news that Dada had been taken to Baramati Hospital. We were telling Asha Tai that nothing had happened, but she had already started walking out of the farmhouse, saying she needed to see him. Finally, we reluctantly took her to the bungalow in Baramati.”

According to reports, Ajit Pawar had visited his mother at the farmhouse four days ago and had spoken to Asha Tai for about 15 minutes. It is worth noting that Ajit Pawar lost his father, Anantrao Pawar, at a very young age. Anantrao Pawar passed away in 1988, a loss that deeply affected Ajit Pawar’s life and education. Following his father’s untimely death, Ajit Pawar was raised by his mother, Asha Pawar. He later entered politics under the guidance and mentorship of his uncle, Sharad Pawar.


Anantrao Pawar was a well-known figure in the creative arts, having worked with renowned filmmaker V. Shantaram at Rajkamal Studios. Ajit Pawar was deeply saddened by his father’s death, which came just three years after his marriage to Sunetra Pawar in 1985.

ALSO READ: Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash: When Maharashtra Deputy CM chanted Lord Pandurang names during harrowing mid-air scare in Maoist-hit Gadchiroli

Ajit Pawar's last rites in Baramati

The last rites of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP chief) took place on Thursday in Pune's Baramati at Vidya Pratishthan. Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP chief Nitin Nabin also attended the funeral and paid their respects to Maharashtra's deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

Hundreds of mourners thronged the residence of Pawar at his native village Katewadi near Baramati on Thursday morning to pay their last respects. Grief-stricken people from Katewadi and nearby villages in Pune district, joined by NCP workers, made a beeline outside the residence gates, chanting slogans such as "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" and "Ajit Dada Parat Ya" (Ajit Dada please come back).

Pawar (66) was killed on Wednesday morning after the chartered Learjet crashed near the Baramati airstrip, around 100 km from Pune. Two pilots, a flight attendant and a personal security officer were also killed in the accident.

On Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Pawar were brought from the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Hospital in Baramati, where they were kept overnight, to his Katewadi village near Baramati. Inside the premises where the mortal remains were kept for the last darshan, Ajit Pawar's wife and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar, his sons Parth and Jay, and his younger brother Shrinivas Pawar accepted tributes from people with folded hands.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, his wife and son Amit, actor Riteish Deshmukh, and several other dignitaries were among those who paid tributes to Pawar at his residence in Katewadi.

After the final darshan at the residence, the mortal remains were taken to the sports ground of Vidya Pratishthan in Baramati, where the last rites were held with full state honours.

(With PTI inputs)