Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat died at a private hospital in New Delhi on Wednesday morning following a massive heart attack.
Kamat was having his morning tea at his residence in the national capital when he felt severe pain in the chest. He immediately called his driver who rushed him to the Primus Hospital in Chanakyapuri, where he died immediately after his admission.
Kamat was 63 and is survived by his wife Maharookh and doctor-son, Sunil, who is an intensivist and a Fellow at Sloan Kettering Memorial in New York.
Party sources said that Kamat had gone to New Delhi to meet the Congress’ newly appointed treasurer Ahmed Patel.
Kamat was doing well till late on Tuesday night, when he sent out greetings Bakri Eid greetings to Muslim brethren. “Eid Mubarak to all my friends celebrating Eid Al Adha. May all your prayers be accepted. May peace, joy and happiness never depart from your lives and homes,” he had tweeted.
Kamat’s body was flown to Mumbai by Jet Airways flight in the night. His funeral will be held in the city on Thursday.
Kamat’s untimely death sent shock waves through the Congress circles. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi visited the Primus Hospital hospital and paid her last respects to the departed leader. Her son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is currently away in Germany to deliver an address at the Bucerius Summer School, described Kamath’s death as a “massive blow to the Congress family”.
“The sudden passing away of senior leader Gurudas Kamat ji, is a massive blow to the Congress family. Gurudas ji helped build the Congress party in Mumbai & was greatly respected & admired by all. My condolences to his family in their time of grief. May his soul rest in peace,” Rahul tweeted from Hamburg.
Mourning Kamat’s death, former President Pranab Mukherjee tweeted: “Shocked and pained at the sudden and untimely demise of Shri Gurudas Kamat. A colleague in the Government and the party for many years, his passing away at such young age is tragic”
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who enjoyed close rapport with Kamat when he was in the Congress, tweeted: “Saddened by the demise of a veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Shri Gurudas Kamat. We have lost a leader who knew the pulse of Mumbaikars & would always voice their concern in Parliament. My heartfelt condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace.
“Anguished by the sudden demise of former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Shri Gurudas Kamat. He was a seasoned leader who had also served the nation as the MoS in the MHA. My thoughts are with his family and supporters,” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
From being a student leader in 1972, Kamat rose from the ranks. He was appointed as the Mumbai unit president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) in 1976. From there on, he rose steadily in the Congress ranks.
After working as the General Secretary of Maharshtra Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC), he was appointed as the President of the MPYC in 1987,
Kamat, who was close to Gandhi-Nehru family, was appointed as the President of Indian Youth Congress in 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. Kamat was appointed the President of Mumbai Congress in 2003, a position he held till 2008.
An excellent organiser who had developed rapport with the party workers at the grass root level, Kamat had broken the stranglehold of late Deora on the Mumbai party set up in the early 2000s and he was the face of the Mumbai Congress till 2008.
A five-term MP from Mumbai (four terms from the Mumbai north-east constituency and once from Mumbai north-west constituency), Kamat had direct access to late Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs with additional charge of Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India during 2009 to 2011.
Kamat, who had running feud with late Mumbai Congress president Murli Deora, surprised everyone in the Congress by resigning from the Union Cabinet on July 10, after the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inducted Milind Deora, son of late senior Deora, in his cabinet. He, however, played down the intent behind his resignation from the Union Cabinet by saying that he would not want to be in any position either in the Government or in the party set up, but would like to work as an active Congress worker.
In 2013, he was appointed General Secretary All India Congress Committee and was also appointed as a member of the Congress Working Committee.
A temperamental leader, Kamat dropped another bombshell on June 5 2016 by announcing his decision to resign from the primary membership of the Congress and retire from active politics. His announcement to resign from the Congress’ primary membership stemmed from the fact that he felt sidelined in the Mumbai Congress after Sanjay Nirupam was appointed as the Mumbai Congress chief in the run up to the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
With the party high command not accepting his resignation, Kamat sought to make his presence felt during the 2017 BMC elections by opposing any possible alliance with the Sena in the civic body in the post-poll scenario. A section of the Congress, headed by former chief minister Ashok Chavan, had at that time hinted at the possibility of the Congress extending its support to the Sena after the civic body polls to keep the BJP away from the power.
Kamat’s close associates said that he was keen to return to active politics and would not have been averse to contesting the 2019 lok Sabha polls. However, his plans were terminated with his death.