NCP to meet Fadnavis after Diwali, seeks faster CID probe into Ajit Pawar plane crash

The core committee of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met on Wednesday. At the meeting, chaired by party president and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, it was decided that the party's ministers and MLAs will meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after Diwali. Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash at Baramati on January 28. At the meeting with the chief minister, the party will demand that the ongoing probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) be completed quickly.

The party will also once again raise its demand that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe the crash. The opposition repeatedly questions the pace of the investigation. In particular, Rohit Pawar, MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), alleges that the Fadnavis government is dragging out the probe. Stopping that is also, to some extent, an aim of the move.

Working president Praful Patel, state president Sunil Tatkare, ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, former ministers Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde, MP Parth Pawar and youth leader Jay Pawar were present at the meeting.

According to party sources aware of the decisions taken at the meeting, the discussion on the crash probe followed a visit by Jay Pawar. Jay Pawar, son of Sunetra and Ajit Pawar, went to the CID headquarters in Pune on October 28 and asked about the current status of the investigation. He sought clarity on how long the probe would take and how many technical clearance reports were pending. He also stressed that there must be transparency and that conclusions should come quickly.

The CID is examining matters related to the operation of the flight. A preliminary inquiry, including talking to family members and political representatives, is also under way. Officials have said the investigation is progressing steadily, and that technical reports and information from specialised civil aviation bodies are being scrutinised before the final report.

The state government formally recommended in February 2026 that the case be handed to the CBI. The recommendation followed demands by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and other senior NCP leaders. There was public concern around the crash, and political allegations were also being made. Fadnavis later clarified that the recommendation for a CBI inquiry stands. However, the agency's criminal or sabotage inquiry will formally proceed only after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) submits its final technical findings. The AAIB's technical assessment to determine the factors behind a crash generally takes up to a year.

The core committee also reviewed the dispute in the Supreme Court between the Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions of the NCP. It was unanimously decided to appoint a team of senior lawyers to present the party's case.

The Sharad Pawar faction has challenged the Election Commission's decision. The commission had recognised Ajit Pawar's faction as the official NCP and given it the party's original "clock" symbol. The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Ajit Pawar faction and allowed the dispute to be examined on merits. As an interim arrangement, it has permitted use of the "clock" in elections, but campaign material and advertisements must carry a prominent notice. It must state that the allotment of the symbol is sub judice and depends on the court's final decision.

The court has given the Sharad Pawar faction the name "Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar" and the symbol "man blowing a tutari". The Ajit Pawar faction was also told not to use photographs, the name or videos of party founder Sharad Pawar in campaigning. The court has said the faction should stand on its own feet and build a separate identity. The main constitutional challenge, concerning use of the legislature party majority test, is pending before a bench headed by the Chief Justice. Party sources said the interim arrangement on names and symbols will continue until the final order.

The meeting came amid growing differences between senior leaders of the party and younger members described as the "Young Turks". It was the second core committee meeting since Monday. On Sunday, senior leaders reportedly met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and voiced concern over the unilateral functioning of MP Parth Pawar and over being excluded from decision-making. On Tuesday, MLAs and ministers also raised concern over internal friction. The leaders and MLAs had said the party was weakening for lack of unity and that grassroots workers did not understand the party's direction. Even so, the core committee did not discuss the differences between senior and younger leaders, or the strategy of strengthening the party in the state and expanding it nationwide.