Former MP Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa Passes Away At 92

PM Narendra Modi condoled the former CM’s death saying he was a hardworking and a dedicated leader.

File image of Sunderlal Patwa (centre) with his wife. (Photo courtesy: Tanmay Jain/Facebook)

Veteran BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday in Bhopal after a brief illness.

Patwa suffered a heart attack in the morning and was rushed to hospital where he breathed his last, Bansal Hospital's executive director Skand Trivedi said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condoled the death of the senior BJP leader. In a tweet, he recalled Patwa’s life-long contribution to the development of Madhya Pradesh and said his death is an irreparable loss to the state.

Patwa's wife had died a few years ago and they had no children. His nephew Surendra Patwa is Minister for Culture and Tourism in the present BJP-led state government.

Political Career

Born on 11 November 1924, Patwa served as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister twice, first for a brief spell of less than a month in 1980 and later, riding on the Ram Mandir 'wave', he came back to power in March 1990.

However, his second stint on the seat of power was curtailed by imposition of the President's rule in 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

He was also elected as the Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara in the 1997 by-poll when he defeated Congress strongman Kamal Nath on his home turf. Later, Nath wrested the seat from him in 1998, party sources said.

In 1999 general elections, Patwa won the Hoshangabad Lok Sabha seat and became a Cabinet-raked minister in the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government at the Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences over the demise of the veteran party leader.

(With inputs from PTI)