A chilling deja Vu: When Ajit Pawar spoke of mid-air scare in Gadchiroli

NAGPUR: "It was Ashadhi Ekadashi and I kept chanting the name of Lord Pandurang in the tense moments," recalled Ajit Pawar while narrating a frightening mid-air experience during a flight to Gadchiroli in July 2024 — an anecdote that has resurfaced poignantly following his death in a plane crash on Wednesday.

Pawar was travelling from Nagpur to Maoist-hit Gadchiroli on July 17, 2024, along with then deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and industries minister Uday Samant for the foundation laying ceremony of Surjagarh Ispat. The journey took place amidst heavy rain, dense fog and dark cloud cover, resulting in near-zero visibility.




Addressing a public gathering at Wadlapet in Gadchiroli after touchdown, Pawar had described how the copter wobbled in the clouds and nothing was visible. Though he narrated the episode in his trademark humour, he admitted the experience had been deeply unsettling.

"When we started from Nagpur, everything was fine. But later, when the helicopter went into the clouds, I looked around, we couldn't see the ground or trees. We were flying blindly," Pawar had said. He recalled feeling a knot in his stomach as fear set in.

In sharp contrast, Pawar said, Fadnavis, seated beside him, appeared calm, unperturbed and continued to chat casually. When Pawar expressed concern, Fadnavis reassured him, saying he had experienced similar mid-air scares many times before and had always emerged unharmed.

"Don't worry at all. I have faced six such situations. Whenever I am in a helicopter or plane, nothing happens to me. So, nothing will happen to you either," Pawar quoted Fadnavis as saying, a remark that drew laughter from the crowd.

"I thought to myself, 'My goodness, what is he saying? I had a sinking feeling and was constantly chanting 'Panduranga, Panduranga'. And here was this ‘maharaj' (Fadnavis) giving me advice," Ajit Pawar had said, adding "It's the good deeds of his (Fadnavis) elders that we reached here (safely). Those good deeds helped us," he had said. "But friends, honestly, all of us were quite shaken. Uday Samant was sitting to my right, and he said, 'Dada, Dada, look… The ground is finally visible'. Jokes apart, everyone must take care," Pawar had said.

Following Pawar's tragic death at the age of 66, the anecdote has taken on a sombre tone, transforming what was once a light-hearted recounting into a poignant reminder of the risks associated with air travel.