Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel passes away at 71

NEW DELHI:

Senior Congress leader and the party's top strategist Ahmed Patel died in a Gurugram hospital on Wednesday due to multi-organ failure. He was suffering from complications related to COVID-19.

Patel (71), who was critical for a few days, was admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on November 15 after he developed complications.

His son Faisal said he died at 3.30 am.

"With profound grief & sorrow, I regret to announce the sad and untimely demise of my father, Mr. Ahmed Patel at 25/11/2020, 03:30 AM. After testing positive for Covid-19 around a month back, his health worsened further due to multiple organ failures. May Allah grants him Jannatul Firdaus, inshallah," he said in a tweet.

He also urged all well-wishers to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations by avoiding mass gatherings.

Patel was currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. He was an eight-time parliamentarian -- five times in the Rajya Sabha, three times in the Lok Sabha. His last Rajya Sabha election in 2017 was contested very keenly amid charges of horse-trading.

He was currently the Congress treasurer, a post that he occupied thrice.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Union ministers condoled Patel's demise. (PTI)

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