Gajendra Singh Shaktawat, Congress MLA from Vallabhnagar, passes away at 48

JAIPUR: Congress legislator from Udaipur’s Vallabhnagar constituency Gajendra Singh Shaktawat, 48, died of prolonged illness on Wednesday. He was undergoing treatment at a hospital in New Delhi for the past 15 days and breathed his last at 5am, according to family sources.
His cremation will be held at 11am on Thursday at his native village Bhinder in Udaipur district.He is survived by wife, a son and two daughters.
He is the fourth MLA from Rajasthan and third from the ruling Congress to have died in the last six months.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed condolences at the untimely demise of the legislator. Gehlot tweeted he had been in touch with Shaktawat’s family and the doctor treating the MLA for the past fortnight. Gehlot also cancelled a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Wednesday.
Pilot in an emotional tribute to the departed leader said it is not only a big loss for the Congress, but a loss at the personal level.
“I am deeply saddened by the devastating news of the passing away of my colleague & MLA Shri Gajendra Singh Shaktawat ji,” Pilot said on Twitter.
“He was a humble and a kind soul, always dedicated towards the development of his constituency. My heartfelt condolences to his family,” Pilot further said in his tweet.
Shaktawat had recovered from Covid-19, but had developed infection in liver and lungs, family sources said.
The two-time MLA was son of Congress stalwart from Mewar and former state minister Gulab Singh Shaktawat. He served as parliamentary secretary in the previous Gehlot government (2008-13). Shaktawat was among the 19 Congress MLAs, along with Pilot, who rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership in July last year.
Shaktawat is the fourth legislator of the current Rajasthan assembly to have died of illness in past six months. Before him, two Congress MLAs Bhanwar Lal Meghwal and Kailash Chandra Trivedi and BJP MLA Kiran Maheshwari died while undergoing treatment. Both Trivedi and Maheshwari died of Covid complications.
Bypolls will have to be held for Sahada, Sujangarh, Rajsamand, and Vallabhnagar.
Currently, there are 196 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly. The Congress has 104 MLAs, BJP 71, Communist Party of India-Marxist 2, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party 3, Bharatiya Tribal Party 2, Rashtriya Lok Dal 1, and Independents 13.