India, Jan. 28 -- The death of Ajit Anantrao Pawar, 66, Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, in an aircrash on Wednesday is likely to have an impact on his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the NCP (SP) controlled by his uncle Sharad Pawar, and Maharashtra, perhaps even national, politics.

A deputy CM in six governments, Pawar was a politician from the old school - much like his uncle - and for close to five decades, bestrode local politics in Maharashtra like a colossus, marrying mass-connect with a strong dose of realpolitik to not just always stay relevant, but to also, almost always, be on the winning side. Like many local politicians, he was embroiled in many corruption cases (making him a lightning rod for targetted attacks by r...