Baramati's Dada

Ajit Pawar's sudden death leaves a power vacuum, but for people, especially from rural pockets in and around Baramati, who considered him a grassroots strongman, the loss is more profound

- By Pritha Vashishth

THE morning light on January 29, 2026, filtered weakly through the winter haze over Baramati, but the air already carried the weight of irreversible loss. Thousands had begun gathering before dawn, their numbers swelling into lakhs by the time the sun climbed higher. At the heart of it all stood Supriya Sule and Sunetra Pawar, walking side by side toward the site where Ajit Pawar's last rites would be performed. Supriya held Sunetra's hand firmly. Two women who had once navigated the sharp edges of family and political divides now stood bound only by shared sorrow. Sunetra, Ajit's wife and a Rajya Sabha member, moved with measured steps, her face pale and composed yet betraying the hollow ache within. Supriya, his cousin and the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati, offered silent strength. Their clasped hands became a poignant symbol of unity amid profound heartbreak. The image of them together, cousin and widow, political rivals turned family in mourning, captured the raw humanity of the day.

Chants rose in waves around them: “Amar rahe, amar rahe, Ajit dada amar rahe”. The slogans filled the Vidya Pratishthan ground, an educational complex tied to the Pawar legacy, where the funeral unfolded with full state honours. The mortal remains, draped in the tricolour, had been brought in a flower-decorated rath from Katewadi village earlier that morning. The procession wound through Baramati's streets, allowing countless supporters to pay their respects, before concluding here at 11 a.m. for the cremation.