A veteran of many seasons Congress leader Arjun Singh, who had once been called modern ‘Chanakya’ of Indian politics, died here on Friday after a prolonged illness.
The late leader, who had served as Madhya Pradesh chief minister and as Union minister, was admitted to AIIMS on February 23 with chest pain and neuro problems. He suffered a heart attack and breath his last this evening.
Incidentally, the departed leader was on Friday afternoon dropped from the party’s highest policy-making body Congress Working Committeee (CWC) and was made a Permanent Invitee.
The late Congress leader is survived by his wife Saroj Kumari, two sons - Ajay Singh, an MLA in Madhya Pradesh and Abhimanyu - and daughter Veena.
"Arjun Singh was admitted in AIIMS on February 23. He was shifted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) yesterday (Thursday). He was suffering from chronic diseases, related to chest pain and neuro problems. He was kept in a special ward of CN Centre at the hospital,” AIIMS spokesperson Dr Y.K. Gupta said, adding that the leader complained of 'respiratory problem on Friday at around 5.30 pm' and later died of heart attack.
Considered to be a Gandhi family loyalist and a shrewd strategist, Mr Singh was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh between 1980 and 1985 and was made Governor of Punjab just a day after he took oath as chief minister for the second time in the state.
With failing health, Singh, who started using a wheel chair, did not make it to the UPA II cabinet.