West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday made a shocking claim about the death of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar. She said Pawar was expected to leave the NDA and join the INDIA bloc before his death. Banerjee also questioned the circumstances of the plane crash that killed him.

The Trinamool Congress chief demanded a high-level investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court to find out the truth behind the incident.

“Somebody from another party had said that Ajit Pawar would leave the BJP. Now look at what has happened today. I want a proper investigation under the monitoring of the Supreme Court. Nobody is safe here. He was supposed to join back — I had seen that — so how did this crash happen?" she said.

Plane Crashed During Second Landing Attempt Near Baramati

Reports said the aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar crashed near the tabletop runway at Baramati in Maharashtra’s Pune district. The accident happened during a second attempt to land. Pawar and four others lost their lives in the tragic crash.

Opposition Leaders Question If Crash Was an Accident

Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti echoed Mamata Banerjee’s concerns and openly questioned whether the crash was accidental or deliberate.

“Shocked to learn about tragic death of Maharashtra Dy CM Sri Ajit Pawar in a plane crash! Since in last Maharashtra municipal elections, his party contested jointly with NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and there were rumours in power corridors that both the factions may get merged which would have surely troubled the present BJP-shiv Sena (Shinde group) govt. Hence the big question: his death is an accident or sabotage!" Bharti wrote in a post on X.

Congress Demands Probe Into Multiple Plane Crashes

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra also demanded an investigation. He linked Ajit Pawar’s death with other past air accidents involving senior leaders.

“Vijay Rupani ji’s plane accident, Bipin Rawat, and now Ajit Pawar’s accident, and the fact that no investigation report on any of these has been made public, I believe, raises questions somewhere. The country’s Prime Minister and Home Minister should investigate these three," he said.

BJP Slams Mamata Banerjee’s Remarks

The BJP strongly reacted to Mamata Banerjee’s statement. Party spokesperson Tuhin Sinha criticised her comments and called them inappropriate at a time of national grief. He said “such vulture-like behaviour" should be avoided during moments of tragedy.

Disgusting opportunism by Mamata Banerjee. Such vulture- like behaviour is avoidable in this hour of tragedy .

— Tuhin A. Sinha तुहिन सिन्हा (@tuhins) January 28, 2026

Ajit Pawar’s Political Background

Ajit Pawar, aged 66, was serving as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister. He had joined the NDA government after splitting from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Recently, both NCP factions had come together for local body elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, though they failed to make a major impact.

Investigation Begins, State Mourning Announced

Following the crash, a team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) started probing the incident. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government announced a three-day state mourning to honour Ajit Pawar.