Former Madhya Pradesh CM Sunderlal Patwa dies at 92

Bhopal: Veteran saffron leader and former chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh Sunderlal Patwa died of cardiac arrest in a private hospital here on Wednesday.

He was 92. He is survived by his nephew Surendra Patwa who is minister for culture and tourism in Shivraj Singh Chouhan ministry.

Patwa, known as a “tough guy with a heart of gold” in political circle, had been ailing for long. He was rushed to a private specialised hospital when he suffered heart attack. He breathed his last early on Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached here to pay homage to the seasoned BJP leader who had played a key role in creating saffron base in the central Indian state of undivided MP in the 1960s.

“He was a hardworking and a dedicated leader whose good work as the MP CM will be remembered”, the Prime Minister, who spent nearly half-an-hour at the state BJP headquarters here where the body of the former Jansangh leader was kept for the people to pay respects, said in his tweet.

Large number of people, including MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his ministerial colleagues, paid homage to the leader.

“His death is an irreparable loss for the state,” Mr Chouhan said.

Veteran Congress leader and former MP CM Digvijay Singh condoled the death of the BJP leader. Born on November 11, 1924 Patwa was a two-time chief minister of MP. His first term lasted a month in 1980. His second term lasted for two years from 1990 to 1992.

Patwa was also elected to Lok Sabha from Chhindwara in 1997, defeating senior Congress leader Kamal Nath.

He also won the 1999 LS polls from Hosangabad and served as a minister in the then Atal Behari Vajpayee government at the Centre. Patwa’s wife died a few years ago.

Patwa was known as a strong administrator and a man who liked to “talk to the point”.