Maharashtra: Veteran Congress leader Vasantrao Chavan passes away at 70

Veteran Congress leader Vasantrao Chavan. Pic/X@NANA_PATOLE

Veteran Congress leader Vasant Chavan passed away on Monday (August 26, 2024) at a private hospital in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. He was 70.

The Congress MP died while undergoing treatment at Kims Hospital in Hyderabad. He breathed his last around 4 am on Monday morning. He was undergoing treatment for renal issues there since last week, reported news agency PTI.

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His last rites will be performed in Naigaon at 11 am, the sources told PTI

The President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Nana Patole paid his tributes to the Congress veteran in a post on X. "The news of the demise of a senior leader of Congress party, MP of Nanded Lok Sabha Constituency Vasantraoji Chavan is very shocking", read the post. The MPCC president also praised the ex-MP for staying loyal to the Congress party even in "adverse conditions". "He always remained loyal to the Congress party even in adverse conditions and brought the idea of the Congress party home", added the post.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar also condoled the demise of the Congress leader.

"The news of the demise of Nanded Lok Sabha Constituency MP Vasantraoji Chavan is very sad. Being loyal to the Congress ideology, he supported the Congress party during difficult times and maintained the party organization in the Nanded district. He remained loyal to the Congress Party throughout his life with the feeling that the Congress Party was his family. The death of Vasantraoji Chavan, who was a true pike of Congress ideology, has caused a great loss to the party. Vasantraoji pays a heartfelt tribute to Chavan. We share the grief of the Chavan family and friends on this difficult occasion," Wadttiwar posted on X.

Former Maharashtra CM and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan recalled the strong relationship he had with Vasantrao Chavan.

"The news of the death of senior leader and Nanded MP Vasantrao Chavan is very shocking. It was expected that he would recover sooner or later by responding to medical treatment. However, early today, time struck them with an unfortunate attack. Late Vasantrao Chavan and I were related for two generations. Our fathers worked together, we also stayed together for many years in politics and cooperatives. As an MP from Nanded, he got the opportunity to work at the central level for the first time. However, with his demise, a moderate, modest and experienced leader who knew the pulse of the countryside well has passed away. A heartfelt tribute to Vasantrao Chavan," Ashok Chavan said in a post on X.

The veteran Congress leader had won the Nanded Lok Sabha seat this year despite ill health and big desertions, including that of former CM Ashok Chavan, who joined BJP ahead of the polls.

Soon after the Lok Sabha election results were out, Vasant Chavan thanked Ashok Chavan for defecting to BJP.

In the Lok Sabha election, Vasant Chavan defeated sitting BJP MP Pratap Patil Chikhalikar by 59,442 votes, overcoming issues like a weakened party after Ashok Chavan defected to BJP just before the elections and his own personal health problems.

Born in Naigaon in Nanded district, Vasant Chavan was a gram panchayat member for a long time and later became a zilla parishad member in 1990 and 2002.

He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 2002 and became a member of the state legislative assembly from the Naigaon assembly seat. He was an MLA from 2009 to 2014.

He was also the chairman of Nanded District Central Cooperative Bank from 2021 to 2023.

(With inputs from PTI)