From Pranab Mukherjee to Motilal Vora: List of Political Bigwigs Who Passed Away This Year

Here's a list of noted politicians whom we've lost in 2020 and whose influence will be felt for many years to come.

New Delhi: Apart from coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 was also a year of heavy losses. In this year, we lost many big political leaders who once upon a time were holding crucial position in the Indian political arena. With a stretch of so many unfortunate events, the year 2020 wasn’t really kind to the majority. This year, the country suffered the loss of these great leaders, who were known for their contribution in the political filed.

Here, we present as list of noted politicians whom we’ve lost in 2020 and whose influence will be felt for many years to come.

Pranab Mukherjee: A senior Congress leader and Stateman, Pranab Mukherjee died this year due to coronavirus. He served as the 13th President of India from 2012-2017. During the COVID-19 pandemic, on August 10, 2020, Pranab Mukherjee announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to a surgery in the brain to remove a blood clot. Later, he was admitted to the hospital after accidentally slipping and falling in his bathroom. For many days, he was on ventilator support and in critical condition at the Army’s Research and Referral (R&R) hospital in Delhi. However, on August 13, the hospital announced that Mukherjee was in a deep coma after he underwent brain surgery. Mukherjee died on 31 August 2020 at 84, which was confirmed by his son Abhijit Mukherjee via Twitter.

Ram Vilas Paswan: A famous politician from Bihar and a Cabinet minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, Ram Vilas Paswan passed away on October 8, 2020 at 74. His death was announced by his son Chirag Paswan. He had undergone heart surgery and was hospitalized for a few weeks prior to his death.

Ahmed Patel: Considered as the political guru of the Congress, Ahmed Patel was an MP and also political secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He passed away on November 25, 2020 at 71. He died due to multiple organ failure because of COVID-19. He had been admitted to the Medanta Hospital and was in the ICU upon being diagnosed with COVID-19. His son Faisal confirmed about his said through a tweet

Tarun Gogoi: Long serving Chief Minister of Assam and veteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi, who had been battling for his life with COVID-19 complications, died on November 23, 2020. He was hospitalized on August 26, 2020, with COVID-19 symptoms and had been given a blood plasma transplant. He had recovered from COVID-19 and was discharged from the hospital after two months.

Amar Singh: Kidney failure took toll on him. Former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh died on August 1, 2020 due to kidney related issued in Singapore. Amar singh’s prominence in Delhi surged when the UPA government was reduced to a minority after the Communist Party of India withdrew its support over the proposed Nuclear Accord with the United States. His Samajwadi Party pledged support to the UPA government with the support of its 39 members.

Lalji Tandon: Another prominent leader whom we lost in 2020 was Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon who passed away on July 21, 2020 at Lucknow’s Medanta Hospital following a long illness. He was 85. Lalji Tandon in May 2009 was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Lucknow by a margin of over 40,000 votes over Rita Bahuguna Joshi of Indian National Congress. He was also the Governor of Bihar and was praised for streamlining academic activities of the state universities.

Motilal Vora: Veteran Congress leader and a star politician, Motilal Vora passed away on December 21, a day after celebrating his 93rd birthday. He was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. He died at the Fortis hospital, where he had been admitted since December 19 with complaints of dyspnea or shortness of breath with altered sensorium and hypotension (low blood pressure). He was also tested Covid-19 positive in October but recovered and was discharged from hospital on October 16.

Jaswant Singh: Another BJP stalwart, Jaswant Singh died in Delhi on September 27 this year following a cardiac arrest at 82. A former Union Minister, Jaswant Singh was one of the founder members of BJP. He had held Defence, External Affairs and Finance portfolios in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government.

Apart from these leaders, Veteran Congress leader Ramkrishna Dwivedi, former parliamentarian Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo, former Karnataka Governor TN Chaturvedi, Ajit Jogi, Bhanwar Lal Sharma, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, are among the names who all died this year, leaving behind a rich political legacy. Their demise has left a void in the political circuit.