The shocking and the unexpected death of Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra as well as a stalwart of one of the factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, in an air crash in Baramati will turn public attention, once again, towards safety standards in aviation, especially those pertaining to chartered flights and small airstrips. Poor visibility, it is being suggested, played a major role in this particular air crash: worryingly, the Baramati airport, where the leader was headed, does not have adequate navigational aids to assist pilots during challenging conditions. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will investigate the mishap. The outcome, hopefully, will not only yield a reliable deduction of the cause of the crash but also, even more important, lead to the creation of effective interventions. This is especially important since India has lost a long line of political leaders in such horrors.
The nature of public life in India is such that even a tragedy cannot discourage speculations on future political developments. Pawar’s death comes at a time of considerable flux in power equations in Maharashtra. Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance, of which Pawar’s faction of the NCP is a partner, and the segment in Opposition led by his uncle, the veteran politician, Sharad Pawar, will feel the ensuing turbulence. This is because, on the one hand, the deputy chief minister was especially useful for the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, in his subtle battles against another ‘ally’, Eknath Shinde. The vacuum created by Pawar’s death in a ruling coalition marred by subterranean tensions could have interesting repercussions. Parleys will afflict the divided NCP too. Revealingly, the Pawars, despite the recent differences in the clan, had fought as one unit — and lost — in the recent civic elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Would Ajit Pawar’s death lend further momentum to the whispers of reunification in the NCP? Or would members of Ajit Pawar's family, even his friends, think of milking his legacy to further their political ambitions? Maharashtra, unlike Bengal, has had a relatively congenial political ambience. But the scope of political opportunism opened up by this tragedy is likely to prevail over the spirit of bonhomie. Realignments in both camps — government and Opposition — cannot be ruled out.