Ajit Pawar
Credit: X/@Jaypawarspeaks
Mumbai: A week after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in his home town of Baramati, details of his last phone call have emerged, in which the veteran politician had spoken about taking along all religions and castes.
Ajit Pawar (66), popularly known as Dada, spoke to Shrijit Pawar, an NCP worker from Katewadi, nine minutes before the crash just short of the table-top runway of the Baramati Airport on January 28, 2026.
While speaking to reporters in Baramati, Shrijit Pawar played what he claimed to be the excerpts of the telephone conservation with Ajit Pawar, who was then on flight and approaching the airport.
The nearly one-minute-long conversation happened on the fateful day around 8:37 am.
Shrijit said that at 8:19 am while Ajit Pawar was in the aircraft, he had sent him a message suggesting that a candidate from the Mali community, listed under the OBC category, should be considered for the zilla parishad seat.
However, as soon as the late NCP president was on a network range, he called him back.
“Ajit Dada and I are from the save village … I sent him a message … as soon as he was in range, he called me … Dada told me that the NCP is taking all communities along with us,” Shrijit Pawar recalled his conversation with the then party chief.
“We also take all castes and religions along with us," Ajit Pawar said to which Shrijit Pawar replied: “No, Dada, I just said what I felt.”
"The Mali community has been given representation in the zilla parishad from the Supe group. We have tried to give justice to everyone,” Ajit Pawar told him, to which Shrijit Pawar said: “Yes, Dada, take whatever decision you think is right.”
Replying to queries of reporters, Shrijit Pawar said: “The call recording shows Ajit Dada’s thinking of taking every community along without any discrimination.”