'Because of him, we learned how to work for people, how to take responsibility, and how to stand by our decisions.'
When Anil Bhaidas Patil speaks about Ajit Pawar, he does so slowly, often stopping mid-sentence as if searching for the right words. The Nationalist Congress Party MLA from Amalner -- the only NCP legislator from Jalgaon district -- is clearly affected by the loss, even as he tries to stay composed.
There is grief in his voice as he speaks less about himself and more about the work Ajit Pawar did and the way he led.
"There's nobody in Maharashtra who wouldn't know the personality that was Ajit Dada," Patil says. "And today, nobody is able to accept that he is no longer with us."
Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash in Maharashtra on January 28, 2026, has left a deep political and emotional vacuum, he feels not just among NCP workers but across the state. For leaders across party lines, the shock is still settling in.
For Patil, the loss is deeply personal. "The speed with which he achieved Maharashtra's development was much faster than the speed of a plane," he says. "It is our misfortune that the plane in which he was travelling did not like Ajit Dada's development speed. Not just the Nationalist Congress Party, but the entire Maharashtra today has to face the brunt of Ajit Dada leaving us so early."
He insists this grief is not his alone. "This is how everybody in the NCP feels today," Patil says. "We have lost the man who pushed us every single day to deliver."
Patil was among the first eight MLAs who stood beside Ajit Pawar when he broke ranks with his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar and took oath as deputy chief minister in July 2023, in a move that reshaped Maharashtra's political landscape. It was a moment of uncertainty and risk, but Patil says Ajit Pawar never hesitated.
Coming from an ordinary family, Patil says he never imagined that he would one day sit in Mantralaya and take decisions affecting thousands of lives. "Ajit Dada changed that," he says. "He gave strength, confidence and courage to people like me from simple backgrounds and brought us to the forefront of Maharashtra's politics."
Ajit Pawar's leadership, Patil believes, was about creating opportunities for those who rarely got them. "He didn't care where you came from," Patil adds. "If you were ready to work, he gave you a chance. He gave us opportunities to become part of the ministry and to work directly for the people of Maharashtra."
Through his vision and bold leadership, Patil says, Pawar ensured development reached even the smallest villages. "He helped uplift poor people and made sure the fruits of development did not remain limited to cities."
"I have seen roads, irrigation projects and basic facilities reach places that had been waiting for years because of Ajit Dada's vision."
For farmers in particular, Ajit Pawar's impact was lasting. "He understood that without water, nothing else mattered," Patil says. "That is why he pushed irrigation projects even when they were difficult and unpopular."
Patil says Ajit Pawar never worked for applause. "He worked for results." "If work was done, that was enough for him."
That approach, he believes, is what made Pawar different from most leaders of his time. "He taught us that power has meaning only when it reaches people," Patil says. "That lesson will stay with us forever."
Patil speaks not just of loss, but of responsibility. "Our identity is nothing without Ajit Dada," he says quietly. "I am nobody without Ajit Dada. We are nobody without Ajit Dada. But because of him, we learned how to work for people, how to take responsibility, and how to stand by our decisions."
"He made us believe we belonged there."
Ajit Pawar may no longer be physically present, Patil says, but his legacy is visible everywhere. "His work is written across Maharashtra -- in its fields, its villages, its canals and its roads," he says. "That is how he should be remembered."