Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid homage to the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on his birth anniversary, recalling his noteworthy contribution to the state's development and service to society.

Born on July 22, 1959, in Ahilyanagar's Deolali Pravara, Ajit Pawar, former chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), served as Maharashtra's longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister for more than eight years, between 2010 and his death in 2026, for six terms.