Sanjay Gandhi To Ajit Pawar: Top Politicians And Personalities Who Died In Aviation Tragedies In India
Ajit Pawar's tragic plane crash joins a list of prominent politicians who died in aviation accidents, highlighting the risks faced by leaders during travel.
Published : January 28, 2026 at 1:18 PM IST
Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in Maharashtra’s Baramati on Wednesday, joins a long list of politicians and public figures who lost their lives in tragic aviation accidents.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit died after a plane crashed at Baramati airport this morning, killing all five people on board. Pawar (66) was travelling to Baramati from Mumbai to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the February 5 zilla parishad elections in the state.
Ajit was the son of Sharad Pawar's elder brother, Anantrao Pawar, who passed away when Ajit was 18 years old. He followed in Sharad Pawar's footsteps into politics in 1982, when he was elected to the board of a sugar cooperative. In 1991, he was elected chairman of the Pune District Cooperative Bank, a position he held for 16 years.
His first electoral foray was in 1991, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramati. However, he vacated the seat after Sharad Pawar became the defence minister in the Narasimha Rao government and needed to enter Parliament. Ajit was elected as MLA from Baramati the same year and has been representing the seat since.
Vijay Rupani—Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani died after an Air India plane crashed near Ahmedabad airport on June 12, 2025. The ill-fated London-bound Air India Boeing plane crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport.
General Bipin Rawat—General Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and 12 others were killed when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed near the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, on December 8, 2021. He was on his way to the DSSC to address officers undergoing a staff course.
Dorjee Khandu—Then-Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was killed when a helicopter carrying him and four others from Tawang to Itanagar crashed in a forest area on April 30, 2011.
The helicopter lost contact with ground control approximately 20 minutes after takeoff. Khandu’s body was recovered near Sela Pass, close to the border with China.
YS Rajasekhara Reddy—YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, died when his Bell 430 helicopter crashed in a dense forest while flying to a village in Chittoor district on September 3, 2009.
OP Jindal—Haryana Ministers OP Jindal, also a noted industrialist, and Surendra Singh were killed when the chopper carrying them went down near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on March 31, 2005.
Soundarya—South Indian film actress Soundarya died in a helicopter crash while she was going to an election campaign on April 17, 2004.
C Sangma—C Sangma, the then Meghalaya Community Development Minister, along with three legislators and six others, was killed in a helicopter crash in September 2004.
GMC Balayogi—Then Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam leader GMC Balayogi died in a helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh on March 3, 2002.
Madhavrao Scindia—Madhavrao Scindia, a royal scion from Madhya Pradesh and a former Congress cabinet minister, was killed in a plane crash on September 30, 2001. He was travelling to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to address a Congress rally.
Dera Natung—Dera Natung, the then Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister, and five others were killed when their Pawan Hans helicopter crashed near Tawang due to poor visibility in May 2001.
NVN Somu—Union Minister of State for Defence, NVN Somu, died in a helicopter crash in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, on November 14, 1997.
Surendra Nath—The then Punjab Governor Surendra Nath, along with 12 others, including nine of his family members, was killed when a state government plane crashed in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh minutes after taking off on July 9, 1994.
Sanjay Gandhi—Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, died when the glider he was flying on crashed soon after taking off from Safdarjung Airport in Delhi on June 23, 1980.
Mohan Kumaramangalam—Minister of Steel in the Indira Gandhi government, Mohan Kumaramangalam, was killed in a plane crash on May 30, 1973, in New Delhi at the age of 56.
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