MUMBAI: Maharashtra agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar, the soft spoken leader who is credited for connecting the agrarian communities in the state with the BJP, succumbed to a sudden massive heart attack here on Wednesday. He was 67.
Born in 1950, Fundkar was a student leader before joining the politics and serving jail term during emergency. In 1978 he was elected to the state assembly. He was one of the first four MLAs of Jansangh from Vidarbha. In 1983 he led a 350 km PadaYatra seeking justice to the cotton farmers of Vidarbha which considerably broadened the party base in the region.
Fundkar was impressive as leader of opposition as well as the state party president. He was instrumental in strengthening the BJP’s roots in the rural area. After two terms as MLA he contested Lok Sabha election and stormed the Congress bastion of Akola. After three terms in Lok Sabha he returned to the state.
Fundkar was very close to late BJP leader Gopinath Munde. During his stint in Lok Sabha he also developed closeness with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpai as well as L K Advani. After returning to state politics he was elected to the legislative council where he again served as the leader of opposition. He was honored as the best parliamentarian at the hands of the then president Pratibha Patil in 2009.
Though he was elected to the legislative council in 2014, he was kept out of the state cabinet. He had to wait for two years for his inclusion in the cabinet till another senior minister Eknath Khadse stepped down over charges of corruption. His stint as agriculture minister was probably the toughest one. However, with his deep understanding of the issues and ability to win over people with soft spoken nature, he could face all the challenges successfully. His decisions as agriculture minister underline his dedication.
Prime minister Narendra Modi paid respects to the leader over twitter. “Saddened by the demise of Maharashtra’s Agriculture Minister Shri Pandurang Fundkar. He made an invaluable contribution towards building the BJP in Maharashtra. He was also at the forefront of serving the farmers of the state. My thoughts are with his family and supporters,” Modi said in his message.
“In his capacity as Minister for Agriculture, Fundkar Ji met me on various occasions. He had sincere urge to address the problems of farmers. An organization man, Shri Fundkar maintained his chord with the people all his life,” said Maharashtra governor ChVidyasagar Rao in his condolence message, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed him as a “leader with deep understanding of issues in agriculture and co-operatives who wanted to transform the sectors.” Fundkar had contributed immensely to the cause of sustainable agriculture in the state, the CM said in his condolence message.
Fundkar’s body was was flown to his native place in Buldana district of Vidarbha where the cremation is scheduled to take place on Thursday morning.