Former Union Minister Shantaram Potdukhe died at 86 in Maharashtra

Former Union Minister and Congress leader Shantaram Potdukhe died at a hospital in Nagpur on Sunday following a brief illness at the age of 86. He was admitted to a private hospital on September 13 and was receiving treatment for multi-organ failure which became a cause of his death.

Potdukhe died at 03:30 pm on Sunday, said a family member. He was survived by his wife, son and a daughter. His last rites will be performed in Chandrapur on Monday.

Potdukhe was an elected Member of Parliament for four times from Chandrapur in Eastern Maharashtra. He served as Union Minister of State for Finance in the Narasimha Rao-led government.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his grief at Potdukhe’s death and said that 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 development of Vidarbha,” said CM Fadnavis.

State Congress chief Ashok Chavan also condoled his death and 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.