Congress leader and Nanded MP Vasantrao Chavan passed away on August 26, 2024 in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Veteran Congress leader and recently elected Member of Parliament representing Nanded constituency, Vasantrao Chavan, passed away at the age of 70 on Monday (August 26, 2024) after battling a prolonged illness.
He had been unwell for several days and was undergoing treatment at KIMS Hospital in Hyderabad. His condition took a sudden turn for the worse late on Sunday and the Congress leader breathed his last at 4 a.m. on Monday (August 26, 2024). Nanded shares a long border with Telangana with Hyderabad being the closest major city.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Chavan secured a significant victory over BJP’s incumbent MP Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar by 528,894 votes, while the latter garnered 469,452 votes. He had won the seat despite ill health and big desertions, including that of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who joined BJP ahead of the polls. Soon after the election results were out, the Congress veteran had thanked Mr. Ashok Chavan for defecting to BJP.
Born in Naigaon in Nanded district, Mr. Vasantrao 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 as an independent MLA in 2009 from Naigaon assembly seat (after it was formed in 2009). Mr. Vasantrao Chavan was re-elected to the State’s Lower House as Congress’s candidate in 2014 polls and was also the chairman of Nanded District Central Cooperative Bank from 2021 to 2023.
He also held positions as a trustee and Chairperson of Janta High School and College of Agriculture in Naigaon.
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, and other leaders expressed their condolences on the passing of the respected MP from Nanded.
“The news of the demise of a senior leader of the Congress party, MP of Nanded Lok Sabha Constituency Vasantraoji Chavan is very shocking. He always remained loyal to the Congress party even in adverse conditions and brought the idea of the Congress party home…The entire Congress party is with the Chavan family in this grief,” Mr. Patole said in a post on X.
