Raj MLA Shaktawat passes away in Delhi
Two-time MLA had tested positive for Covid, was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi a month back
JAIPUR: Congress MLA from Vallabnagar in Udaipur district, Gajendra Singh Shaktawat passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged illness.
Shaktawat, 48, a two-time MLA, was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi over a month back. He was suffering from a liver infection and had tested positive for Covid-19.
He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
He was son of former home minister and Congress stalwart Gulab Singh Shaktawat.
Gajendra Singh had served as parliamentary secretary in the previous Gehlot government.
Chief minister (CM) Ashok Gehlot, former deputy CM Sachin Pilot and other leaders expressed grief over the demise of Shaktawat.
“My deep condolences on the untimely demise of Congress MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat. He was ill for a long time. I was in touch with his family and Dr Shiv Sareen about his health,” Gehlot tweeted.
Pilot tweeted, “I am deeply saddened by the devastating news of the passing away of my colleague and MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat. He was humble and a kind soul, always dedicated towards the development of his constituency. My heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Shaktawat was among the Congress MLAs, led by Sachin Pilot, who had revolted against the leadership of Gehlot in July 2020.
He was the third Congress MLA and fourth sitting legislator to have died, thus bringing down the assembly strength in Rajasthan to 196.
Earlier, Congress MLAs Master Bhanwar lal Meghwal (Sujangarh in Churu), Kailash Trivedi (Saharda in Bhilwara) and BJP MLA Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand) passed away.
Meghwal, who was the social justice and empowerment Minister, was suffering from brain haemorrhage, while Kailash Trivedi and Kiran Maheshwari died of Covid-19 infection in November.
With this, the tally in the state assembly of 200 has come down to 196 in the Congressruled state.