Nana Patekar expresses grief over Ajit Pawar’s demise: ‘He was my best friend, my younger brother’

Nana Patekar offers condolences on Ajit Pawars death, said he has known the late Deputy Chief minister since his teenage years. 

Mumbai:  Speaking to ANI, Patekar said he has known Ajit Pawar since his teenage years. "We are saddened by it (the demise of Ajit Pawar)... I knew him since he was 19-20 years old and had started working as a party worker," the actor said, adding, "I will always miss him. He was my best friend. He was like a younger brother to me."

Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash on January 28 in Maharashtra's Baramati. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), five people, including the crew, were killed when the chartered Learjet 45 flying from Mumbai to Baramati crash-landed at the runway threshold.

Patekar said that while the grief is immense, the family must find strength. "We can't share his grief. We are also sad. But we have to bear his grief," he said, adding that he stands firmly with the Pawar family during this difficult time.

 "I am just a part of their pain. That's all I can say," he said.

When asked about the political implications and the possibility of a merger between two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Patekar declined to comment, saying such decisions depend on political leaders.