Congress MP Vasantrao Chavan, who won the difficult Nanded seat, dies at 70

Chavan had been undergoing treatment at the hospital, where he was airlifted last week after his condition deteriorated. He passed away at 4 am, according to party officials

Mumbai: Vasantrao Chavan, Congress MP from Nanded, died on Monday at KIMS Hospital in Hyderabad. He was 70.

Congress MP Vasantrao Chavan, who won the difficult Nanded seat, dies at 70

Chavan had been undergoing treatment at the hospital, where he was airlifted last week after his condition deteriorated. He passed away at 4 am, according to party officials. He was suffering from kidney ailments and is said to have skipped the dialysis process twice owing to his busy schedule, which led to complications that later worsened his health.

In a way, the veteran politician had become a symbol of the party’s resurgence in Maharashtra after winning the hotly contested Nanded seat in this year’s Lok Sabha elections. Winning Nanded was considered difficult for the Congress after local heavyweight and former chief minister Ashok Chavan defected to the BJP in the run-up to the general elections. Following this, the Congress was expected to get wiped out in the district, which was once its stronghold. Vasantrao Chavan’s victory came as a surprise even to his party colleagues.

Despite facing a formidable challenge from the BJP’s sitting MP, Prataprao Chikhalikar, who enjoyed support from the newly defected Ashok Chavan, Vasantrao Chavan managed to secure a decisive victory. He defeated Chikhalikar by a margin of 59,442 votes after rallying party workers who remained loyal to the Congress.

The ongoing Maratha reservation agitation also contributed to Vasantrao Chavan’s success in Nanded. Many within the Maratha community expressed dissatisfaction with Ashok Chavan’s perceived lack of action on the issue during his time in power.

The news of Vasantrao Chavan’s death prompted an outpouring of condolences from fellow politicians, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

“A senior leader who started his politics from the grassroots as a gram panchayat member and served the people in various elected positions, he protected the Congress ideology in his region till his last breath,” Kharge said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and followers.”

Gandhi, too, paid tribute to Chavan in a post on X: “A popular grassroots leader, Shri Chavan supported and expanded the ideology of Congress throughout his life. His demise is an irreparable loss for the Congress family.”

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said he was shocked to hear about Chavan’s death. “Even in adverse conditions, he always remained loyal to the Congress party and brought the idea of the party to every home...The entire Congress party is with the Chavan family in this period of grief,” he wrote on X.

Ashok Chavan reminisced about working with Vasantrao Chavan for decades. “We had worked together for two generations. Our fathers worked together in politics and the cooperative movement. We also worked together in Nanded. He had got an opportunity for the first time to work as an MP. It’s sad that he passed away. We were hoping he would recover. We have lost a politician who had the pulse of the rural region.”

Other prominent figures, including Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, have also expressed their condolences.