Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Wednesday morning began with the horrific incident as a plane crash in Pune district’s Baramati claimed the life of Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar.Pawar, the longest-serving deputy chief minister in the state’s history, was 66. His death added another name to a grim list of high-profile political figures in India who have lost their lives in aviation accidents.This was not the first time an air crash claimed the life of a prominent leader in the country.
Just months earlier, in June 2025, a London-bound Air India Boeing Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing more than 200 people. Among the victims was former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.
Homi Bhabha (1966)
India’s pioneering nuclear physicist, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, died in a tragic plane crash aboard Air India Flight 101 on January 24, 1966. The aircraft collided with Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps due to a miscommunication with Geneva air traffic control.The official investigation attributed the crash to confusion between the pilot and Geneva Airport authorities over the plane’s position near Mont Blanc.
Sanjay Gandhi (1980)
Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, also died in an aviation accident.At just 33, he was flying a two-seater aircraft when it crashed near Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport on June 23, 1980. At the time, Sanjay Gandhi wielded enormous political influence.
Madhavrao Scindia (2001)
Senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia, a member of Madhya Pradesh’s influential royal family, died in a chartered plane crash on September 30, 2001, in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri district.He was travelling to Kanpur to address a political rally when the crash cut short his life. He had earlier served as Union civil aviation minister in the Narasimha Rao government.
GMC Balayogi (2002)
On March 3, 2002, Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi died in a Bell 206 helicopter crash in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district. The chopper lost altitude while returning from Bhimavaram and struck a coconut palm in Kovvadalanka village, around 100 km from Vijayawada.
OP Jindal (2005)
Industrialist and Congress leader Om Prakash Jindal died in a helicopter crash in March 2005 in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.The chairman of the OP Jindal Group and Haryana’s power minister was travelling with three others, including the son of then Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal.
Dorjee Khandu (2011)
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu died in 2011 after his helicopter went missing near the China border. His body was recovered days later. Four others on board — two pilots, his security officer and a relative of a Tawang MLA — also lost their lives.
CDS General Bipin Rawat (2021)
In 2021, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash on December 8, along with his wife, Madhulika Rawat.The accident took place in the mountains near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, while the couple was traveling from Sulur to Wellington with 11 others on board.
Vijay Rupani (2025)
The former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader was travelling from Ahmedabad to London to visit his family. His journey ended tragically when Air India Flight 171 crashed soon after take-off on June 12 last year, never leaving the city’s confines.Rupani served as Gujarat’s chief minister from 2016 to 2021.
