'Dada, You Missed The Timing': Devendra Fadnavis Pens Emotional Goodbye To Ajit Pawar

Last Updated:January 30, 2026, 10:51 IST

Fadnavis spoke of Pawar as a leader who was “never late” and “never missed a deadline,” calling his death an “irreparable loss”.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pays last respects to the mortal remains of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar during his funeral at the Vidya Pratishthan ground at Baramati. (Image: PTI)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday penned a deeply personal tribute to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died on Wednesday in a plane crash near Baramati, describing the loss as both political and profoundly personal. The article suthored by Fadnavis, published in Lokmat Times, reflects on Pawar ‘Dada’ not just as a towering administrator but as a trusted colleague and close friend whose absence, Fadnavis wrote, will be felt “forever".

Recounting the moment he learnt of the crash, Fadnavis said he initially refused to believe the news until doctors confirmed it. “Our beloved Ajit Dada was gone. I have lost a close, powerful and generous friend," he wrote.

Fadnavis traced their working relationship back well before 2019, noting that even when they stood on opposite sides of the political aisle, they were aligned on issues of development and state interest. Leaders with true vision are rare, he wrote, and Pawar was among them — a man who “stood by his word" and believed that credibility in public life often demands personal cost.

The Chief Minister offered rare glimpses into Pawar’s working style: his habit of beginning the day at 7 am, his dislike for vague “we’ll see" answers, and his insistence on arriving at Cabinet meetings having studied every proposal in detail. “This bluntness sometimes hurt people momentarily, but it built long-term trust," Fadnavis observed. He also recalled Pawar’s dry humour and their shared fondness for cricket and music, moments that softened even the most intense policy discussions.

One of the most poignant passages describes Pawar’s obsession with construction quality and his personal supervision of the Baramati Medical College — the same institution where his mortal remains were later brought. “It is a cruel irony of fate," Fadnavis wrote, noting that just a day before the crash, they had discussed delayed projects and celebrated savings of Rs 2,764 crore in the PWD. Pawar had joked, “Keep giving such sweet news in every meeting."

Fadnavis spoke of Pawar as a leader who was “never late" and “never missed a deadline," calling his death an “irreparable loss" to Maharashtra’s governance. He said the state has lost a finance minister who constantly worried about the treasury and a political partner whose counsel he valued deeply.

“This time, you missed the timing," Fadnavis wrote, adding, “This grief will remain forever that you took such an untimely exit."

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