Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Pune and said that he served his state with distinction.
“It is with shock and deep sadness that I learnt about the untimely demise of Shri Ajit Pawar Ji. He was a widely respected leader who was committed to the well-being of the people and who served the Maharashtra with distinction. My condolences to his family and admirers,” the L-G said in an X post.

Pawar, 66, was among five people who were killed after a private aircraft carrying them crashed near his hometown Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday morning. The Nationalist Congress Party leader was heading from Mumbai to Baramati, where he was scheduled to address rallies for the February 5 zilla parishad polls, when the crash happened.