Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, and four others tragically lost their lives in a chartered plane crash at Pune’s Baramati airport. The aircraft caught fire and exploded before landing, claiming the lives of all five individuals on board, including the veteran NCP leader. This incident serves as a somber reminder of past air tragedies involving prominent figures, including political leaders.
Several notable figures and political leaders have met untimely deaths in plane crashes over the years. Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani perished in a tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad in 2025, where 241 out of 242 passengers on the London-bound flight lost their lives. India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, met a tragic end in a helicopter crash in 2021 near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, along with his wife and 11 others.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu lost his life in a helicopter crash in 2011 in the West Kameng district. Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy met a similar fate in 2009 when his Bell 430 helicopter crashed in the dense Nallamala forests due to adverse weather conditions. Haryana’s Power Minister and industrialist O.P. Jindal also perished in a helicopter crash in 2005 near Saharanpur due to technical failure, impacting both state politics and the industrial landscape of India.
In 2001, senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia died in a Cessna aircraft crash while en route to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The crash, caused by poor weather conditions, claimed his life and those of others on board. The then Punjab Governor Surendra Nath and nine family members met a tragic end in 1994 when the government’s Super-King aircraft crashed in Himachal Pradesh due to bad weather. Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, lost his life in 1980 in a plane crash near Teen Murti house in Delhi while performing aerobatic manoeuvres.
