Former Union minister Shantaram Potdukhe dies at 86

Former Union minister and Congress leader Shantaram Potdukhe died at a hospital here on Sunday following a brief illness, his family said.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Shantaram Potdukhe died at a hospital here on Sunday following a brief illness, his family said.

He was 86 and is survived by his wife, son and a daughter. His last rites will be performed in Chandrapur on Monday.

The four-time MP from Chandrapur in eastern Maharashtra was being treated at a private hospital here since September 13, and died of multi-organ failure at 3.30 pm Sunday, the family said.

Potdukhe was a Union minister of state for finance in the Narasimha Rao-led government.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condoled Potdukhe's death, saying he played a key role in the development of educational institutes in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts.

"We have lost a prominent leader who played an important role in the development of Vidarbha," he said.

State Congress chief Ashok Chavan said Potdukhe always remained loyal to the party ideology and made a great contribution in the development of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also condoled Potdukhe's death.