3 min readMumbaiJan 29, 2026 09:08 PM IST
First published on: Jan 28, 2026 at 09:36 PM IST
Late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in Baramati on Wednesday, January 28, was known for his brutally honest remarks irrespective of what the situation might have been. Here are six instances where he had put that to practice.
Penchant for perfection
Ajit Pawar’s obsession for cleanliness was known to all in the party and his family. At home, he never liked things out of place. And those who witnessed this recall how he himself would painstakingly get rid of waste paper or rearrange a flower vase on a table to perfection. Some years ago, NCP(SP) working president Supriya Sule saw Ajit walking at the NCP headquarters with a limp. When she enquired, it came to her notice that as he walked, he stretched out his leg to push back some of the flower pots that were not in row. Anything out of place never missed his sight. At Pawar’s Vidhya Pratishthan in Baramati, if he ever spotted a wrapper or paper lying on the pathway he would pick it up, leaving the students in the campus embarrassed.
Like clockwork
Known for his punctuality, Ajit would often express disappointment if anyone came late, including bureaucrats. He also disliked people barging into his cabin without appointments. He once told senior journalists that it was unfair to others who travel from distant places for specific work. “I don’t like to keep people waiting,” he’d say.
Going the extra mile
In 2022, when Ajit Pawar became the leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, BJP-Shiv Sena ministers would hope he would never ask questions. Irrespective of which department it was, Ajit Pawar would always end up giving more information and solutions to question raised in the assembly. Unlike other LoPs, he played a constructive role in the Lower House.
Raised among elites
Groomed under Sharad Pawar, Ajit had been imbibing politics since his high school days. He had once revealed how in the good old days when his uncle was already well-established in politics, Ajit Pawar would often walk with tea trays, serving the who’s who at home. “In olden days it was not unusual for us to serve the guests. It was not left to servants,” he has said.
Early start
On another occasion, he had described how some of his rural friends and he campaigned for Sharad Pawar in Baramati. “We took the job so seriously that my uncle actually won with a much higher margin,” he had revealed proudly.
Brutally honest
Though aggressive, Ajit never projected himself as a Maratha leader like Maharashtra Deputy chief Minister Eknath Shinde. At the peak of the Maratha agitation, he had once admonished a group of well-to-do young turks saying, “You are demanding reservation on the basis of economically backward caste. It is alright. But should you not be mindful when you splurge lakhs of rupees on wedding? At times you make your family sell agricultural land to show your power during marriage. When will I think about these issues?”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar inspect latest missiles, weapons, and protection materials at an event in Chakan in February, 2025. (Express Photo) 
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