Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 28 (ANI): The Kerala Legislative Assembly on Wednesday condoled the demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Ajit Pawar, who was killed this morning after the aircraft carrying him and four others crash landed in Baramati in Pune district of Maharashtra.

Speaker A N Shamseer informed the Assembly this morning of the tragic news and led the members in observing a few moments of silence to pay their respects to the late leader.

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar in his message said 'My heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues and the people of Maharashtra. May his soul attain Mukti.'

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, 'Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Pawar Ji in a plane crash at Baramati.'

Vijayan, in a post on social media platform X stated, 'His contribution to the public life and development of Maharashtra will be remembered. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, his colleagues, and the people of Maharashtra in this hour of profound grief.'

NCP Leader and State Forests and Wildlife Minister AK Saseendran said, 'He was like a brother to me.'

Struggling to hold back his tears Saseendran told ANI,'... Every time we met, he showed me a brotherly affection... It is deeply regretted. I pray for his family and followers to recover from this situation very soon.'

Pawar and four others were killed after an aircraft carrying them crash landed in Baramati in Pune district, according to a statement by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The small charter aircraft, with Ajit Pawar on board, took off from Mumbai around 8 am and crashed near Baramati airport during a landing attempt 45 minutes later today

Ajit Pawar was the longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra non-consecutively. He served in the position for six terms within various governments. He had worked as deputy chief minister in the cabinets of Prithviraj Chavan, Devendra Fadnavis, Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde.

Earlier today President Droupadi Murmu in a message on X stated, 'The news of the death of several people, including Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Pawar, in a plane crash in Baramati, Maharashtra, is extremely tragic. The untimely demise of Ajit Pawar ji is an irreparable loss. He will always be remembered for his special contribution to the development of Maharashtra, especially in the cooperative sector. I express my deep condolences to his family, supporters, and admirers. May God grant strength to the families of all those who lost their lives in this accident.'

Maharashtra Government said in a statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah both contacted Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadanvis and received information and updates about the plane crash.

'Shri Ajit Pawar Ji was a leader of the people, having a strong grassroots level connect. He was widely respected as a hardworking personality at the forefront of serving the people of Maharashtra. His understanding of administrative matters and passion for empowering the poor and downtrodden were also noteworthy. His untimely demise is very shocking and saddening. Condolences to his family and countless admirers. Om Shanti,' PM Modi said in his condolence message. (ANI)