Congress MP Vasant Chavan cremated in Maharashtra's Nanded district

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Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Nanded in Maharashtra, Vasant Chavan, was cremated in his hometown, Naigaon, on Tuesday morning in the presence of his supporters and party leaders.

Chavan, aged 69, passed away in a private hospital at Hyderabad on Monday morning following a prolonged illness. Several of Chavan's supporters chanted slogans as his body was placed on the funeral pyre.

Nanded district's guardian minister, Girish Mahajan, stated that Vasant Chavan had a strong connection with the people.

Chavan became a member of the Lok Sabha for the first time in his political career in 2024, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and MP Pratap Patil Chikhlikar in the Nanded constituency of Marathwada region. The Congress veteran won the electoral contest despite his ill health and significant defections, including that of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who joined BJP ahead of the polls. Chavan's victory was notable as he triumphed over personal health issues and organisational challenges following Ashok Chavan's defection, which was believed to have weakened Congress in Nanded.

On Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge paid his heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Vasantrao Chavan.

Kharge recalled the political journey of the veteran Congress leader in a post on X. Talking about how the leader served as a gram panchayat member at the grassroots level. Later, he also served as an MLA for multiple terms in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Vasantrao Chavan joined Congress in September of 2014.

Kharge praised the ex-MP for serving the people in various elected positions and protecting the Congress ideology in the Maharashtra region. "A senior leader, who started his politics from the grassroots as a Gram Panchayat member and served the people on various elected positions, he protected the Congress ideology in his region till his last breath", he said in a post on X.

The President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Nana Patole also paid his tributes to the Congress leader 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.

(With PTI inputs)