Former Maharashtra minister Madhukar Pichad passes away

MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra minister Madhukar Pichad (84) passed away on Friday at a hospital in Nashik following a brief illness. He was hospitalised a month ago after suffering a brain stroke, senior NCP leader and his former colleague Chhagan Bhujbal told PTI.

"He contracted infection and was put on ventilator five-six days ago,'' Bhujbal said. Pichad, a prominent leader from the tribal community who represented Akole assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district from 1980 to 2009, served as a minister in multiple Congress governments till 1995.

He became the leader of opposition in the state Legislative Assembly when the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government came to power in the state. He quit the Congress and joined the Nationalist Congress Party formed by Sharad Pawar in 1999.

He also served as the tribal development minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led government. In 2019, he and his son Vaibhav Pichad, a former MLA, switched loyalty to the BJP.
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