Indian minister Ajit Pawar dies in plane crash

Deputy Chief Minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, has died in a plane crash on Wednesday while heading to the city of Baramati to attend public meetings ahead of local body elections next month. He was 66.

Four others, including the pilots and Pawar's security personnel, have also died in the crash.

According to reports, the small aircraft, which took off from Mumbai around 8:10 am, crashed near Baramati airport half an hour later while attempting to land a second time.

The flight was operated by a company called VSR and was a Learjet 45.

Pawar backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party in the state government, leading a faction that split in 2023 from the opposition Nationalist Congress Party.

Modi took to social media to pay his tributes, describing him as a "leader of the people".

"He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra. His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers," Modi wrote on X.

Pawar was the nephew of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, and the cousin of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule.