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Sugar mills in Baramati mourn the loss of their leader

The Maharashtra sugar industry is known to have been the stronghold of Ajit Pawar with the Dy CM always determined to keep the sector under his command. In his death, the members of the sector believe that they have also lost their leader.

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jan 29, 2026 12:23 AM IST

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Rajendra Dhaval Patil, former director of the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati, was in no position to speak when he heard the tragic news.

Rajendra Dhaval Patil, former director of the Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in Baramati, was in no position to speak when he heard the tragic news. Patil, who is the Western Maharashtra head of farmer organisation Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana said while they were politically poles apart, Ajit Pawar always respected sugarcane farmers.”

When in 2019-20 the Malegaon Karkhana was up for polls he called me over and requested me to contest from the panel supported by him as a farmer representative. He never asked me to join his party,” he said.

Patil said while working as the director, he saw the deputy chief minister working closely with mills to ensure farmers are paid on time. “He even called up mills who delayed payment and urged them to pay on time.. for him the farmer was the base of the economy,” he said.

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As a resident of Baramati, Patil said Pawar was the instrument which transformed the once small agricultural area into technologically powered agri-development zones. “In Baramati he was the son of the soil— he gave time to everyone and heard people out; the area has lost its guardian now,” he said.

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The Maharashtra sugar industry is known to have been the stronghold of Ajit Pawar with the Dy CM always determined to keep the sector under his command. In his death, the members of the sector believe that they have also lost their leader.

Shahaji Gaikwad, managing director of the Daund Sugar Private Limited, talked about how Pawar had an eye for detail in the working of every sugar mill. “Be it the technical management of the mills or availability of bags, Dada kept himself abreast of every detail in the industry. He wanted technology to be available to farmers but at a cost which is affordable,” he said. Gaikwad felt the region had lost a vital guardian.

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