LUCKNOW: Former Union minister and two-time Lucknow mayor Akhilesh Das Gupta died of cardiac arrest here on Wednesday morning. He was 56.
Das suffered a massive heart attack early on Wednesday morning and was rushed to Lari Cardiology under King George’s Medical University (KGMU) where he was declared dead upon arrival by the doctors. Das is survived by his wife Alka, son Sagar and daughter Sona.
The son of a freedom fighter and former UP Chief Minister Babu Banarsi Das, Akhilesh Das had an illustrious political career. He was the mayor of Lucknow from May 1993 to November 1996, before getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Congress. He served as secretary of Congress between 2003 to 2006 and was subsequently appointed as Union minister of steel in the UPA-I regime.
Das developed differences with the Congress leadership in 2008 and quit the party to join BSP and contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on BSP ticket from Lucknow but lost to BJP’s Lalji Tandon.
He was then nominated by Mayawati to Rajya Sabha where his term ended in 2014. Subsequently, Das took a nearly two-year sabbatical from active politics but returned to it in January this year and joined Congress again calling it his 'Ghar Wapsi’.
A former national level badminton player, Das was also President of Badminton Association of India and UP Olympic Association. He was also vice-president of Indian Olympic Association. Das also contributed significantly to the field of education and established a university in the name of his father in Lucknow. He also had stakes in real estate and media.
Leaders, cutting across the political lines, expressed deep sorrow on his sudden demise. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath expressed grief on the loss. The CM visited his residence to console the bereaved family. The PMO tweeted: "Saddened by the demise of former MP and Union minister Akhilesh Das. His active contribution to public life will be remembered.''
While Congress leaders including national general secretary Gulam Nabi Azad and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar said that Das would always be remembered for his contributions to strengthen the Congress party, Former UP chief minister and SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui too reached Das's residence after learning about his death.