Ajit Pawar express shock over death of Balu Dhanorkar, says Opposition bloc has lost a staunch supporter

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) senior leader Ajit Pawar expressed shock over the death of Congress Lok Sabha MP Suresh alias Balu Dhanorkar and said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has lost one of its staunch supporters.

It is shocking that he died at such a young age. With his demise, the MVA has lost a staunch supporter, Pawar said. The Opposition MVA alliance in the state consists of the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena (UBT). The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly said the Lok Sabha member from Chandrapur in eastern Maharashtra knew the pulse of the people and worked hard for development of his home district.

He recalled how Dhanorkar, a former Shiv Sena leader, approached him for a poll ticket from Chandrapur after the seat went to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a seat-sharing agreement with the united Shiv Sena during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Dhanorkar won at a time when there was a massive pro-Modi wave in the country and the state, the senior NCP leader maintained. Pawar also recalled how Dhanorkar provided space to the NCP for opening an office.

Dhanorkar (47), the Congress’ lone Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra, died early Tuesday at a Gurugram -based private hospital, where he was admitted following complications after a surgery to remove kidney stones.