Ajit Pawar plane crash: Indian politicians who died in air tragedies

The death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a chartered aircraft crash near Baramati in the state's Pune district on Wednesday (January 28) has once again drawn attention to a grim pattern in Indian public life: Senior political leaders losing their lives in aviation accidents.

Also Read: Ajit Pawar obituary: A perpetual CM-in-waiting, a leader Maharashtra loved to fear

From top Union to state leaders, such incidents have periodically jolted governments and altered political trajectories across decades.

Ajit Pawar — January 28, 2026

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra's longest-serving deputy chief minister, was killed when the chartered Bombardier Learjet 45 he was flying in crash-landed at Baramati airport, the Nationalist Congress Party chief's own constituency. All five people on board died. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Vijay Rupani — June 12, 2025

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was among the victims of a major Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 12, 2025. The aircraft went down moments after takeoff, killing nearly all but one passenger on board, besides several on the ground, and marking one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.

Dorjee Khandu — April 30, 2011

Dorjee Khandu, who was then the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, died after the helicopter he was travelling in went missing and was later found crashed in the state’s mountainous terrain. He was a leader of the Congress. The incident highlighted the risks of flying in remote and weather-challenged regions.

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy — September 2, 2009

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly called 'YSR', was the Congress chief minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh when he died after his helicopter crashed in the state's Nallamala forest during bad weather, triggering widespread public grief and political upheaval in the state.

O P Jindal & Surender Singh — March 31, 2005

Industrialist and Haryana's former power minister O P Jindal was killed in a helicopter crash in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, along with the state's ex-agriculture minister and son of former chief minister Bansi Lal, Surender Singh.

Also Read: Ajit Pawar plane crash: Mamata hints at conspiracy, calls for SC-monitored probe

Both were senior political figures, and their deaths led to renewed scrutiny of helicopter safety protocols for ministers.

Soundarya — April 17, 2004

Although she was more known to be an actor, a leading one in the Telugu film industry, Soundarya had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was going to campaign for the party during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections when her aircraft crashed after taking off from an airport in Bengaluru, killing her along with her brother and two other persons.

G M C Balayogi — March 3, 2002

Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi, the 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha, died in a helicopter crash in Kaikalur in undivided Andhra Pradesh on March 3, 2002. His death marked a rare loss of a sitting presiding officer of Parliament in an aviation accident.

Madhavrao Scindia — September 30, 2001

Senior Congress leader and former civil aviation minister Madhavrao Scindia was killed when his chartered aircraft crashed in Uttar Pradesh. A widely respected political figure, his death resonated across party lines.

Sanjay Gandhi — June 23, 1980

Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, had died when the light aircraft he was piloting crashed near New Delhi.

Also Read: Sanjay Gandhi’s 42nd death anniversary: Son Varun Gandhi pays tribute

His death reshaped the future leadership of the Congress party and the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Mohan Kumarmangalam — May 31, 1973

A former Union minister, who had shifted from the Communist Party to the Congress, was killed in a former Indian Airlines aircraft crash near New Delhi. His body was identified only by his Parker pen and hearing aid.

Balwantrai Mehta — September 19, 1965

A former chief minister of Gujarat and who also served as a Union minister and is known to be the architect of India's Panchayati Raj institutions, Balwantrai Mehta fell victim to the 1965 India-Pakistan war as his plane was shot down by the Pakistani Air Forces as they mistook his aircraft to be one on a reconnaissance mission, near the Kutch border.