Pawar (66), fondly known as ‘Dada (elder brother),’ and four others were killed when the plane carrying them crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip at Baramati on Wednesday morning
Ajit Pawar’s sons, Parth and Jay, collect their father’s ashes from the cremation ground in Baramati on Friday. PIC/X
A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was cremated in his hometown Baramati in Pune district following his death in a plane crash, his two sons on Friday collected his ashes from the funeral site, news agency PTI reported.
Pawar (66), fondly known as ‘Dada (elder brother),’ and four others were killed when the plane carrying them crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip at Baramati on Wednesday morning.
He was cremated with full state honours on Thursday at the Vidya Pratishthan College ground in Baramati, located around 100 km from Pune city, in the presence of prominent political leaders and thousands of people.
On Friday, Pawar’s sons Parth and Jay collected the ashes from the cremation ground. The late leader’s uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, along with other members of the family, were present during the ritual, PTI reported.
In Hinduism, ashes are traditionally collected the day after the cremation and later immersed in a river.
Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) legislator and Ajit Pawar’s nephew, shared an emotional post following the leader’s death.
“I never even dreamt that the very land where Ajit Dada nurtured a garden of development would one day witness the collection of his ashes. Nobody’s wish prevails before the cruelty of destiny,” he said.
“While collecting the ashes today, it felt as if you might suddenly rise from them like a phoenix, standing tall with the same commanding presence, and say to us in your familiar voice — ‘Hey fools, why are you shedding tears? I was just pulling your leg. I was conducting a mock drill to see how prepared you are to face a crisis. Now get up, get back to work. We have so much to do for Maharashtra, for the common man here. Come on, don’t be late...’,” the post added.
मा. अजितदादांनी जिथं विकासरुपी फुलांची बाग फुलवली तिथंच त्यांची राख सावडण्याची वेळ येईल, असं कधी स्वप्नातही आलं नाही.. पण नियतीच्या क्रूर खेळापुढं कुणाचं काही चालत नाही.. अजितदादांची ती दुर्दैवी बातमी आल्यापासून अद्यापपर्यंत डोकं सुन्न आहे… मन बर्फाप्रमाणे थिजलंय.. काय झालं, कसं… pic.twitter.com/vxD2KKfybi
— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) January 30, 2026
Ajit Pawar death: Late NCP chief wanted both factions to reunite, says family aide
Kiran Gujar, a member of Vidya Prathisthan and a close associate of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s family, on Friday said that the unification of the two factions of the NCP was the late party chief’s last wish.
Addressing reporters after the ceremony, Gujar said, “Today, the ashes of Ajit Pawar were immersed at Sangam here. It was ‘Dada’s’ last wish that this (merger of two factions of NCP) should happen. All should be united. Talks about this were happening throughout the family. In my last phone call with them, he had asked me for some election-related papers.”
Earlier, NCP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) had contested the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections together, and discussions were underway for a possible alliance in the forthcoming zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections. Against this backdrop, there was speculation that the two factions might reunite under a single symbol before Pawar’s passing.
His death has once again fuelled political speculation in Maharashtra.
Reacting to this, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC appealed to people not to indulge in conjecture, stating that the decision regarding the new NCP chief and the post of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister rests with the party.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
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