Congress’s lone Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra Suresh Narayan Dhanorkar, also called Balubhau Dhanorkar, passed away early morning on May 30 in a private hospital, said a party official. He was 47 years old and represented the Chandrapur constituency. He is survived by his wife Pratibha and two sons. His wife is a Congress MLA from Warora constituency.
He was receiving treatment at a Nagpur hospital for his kidney ailment; however, he was transferred to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, due to complications on May 28. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Chairperson Balasaheb Thorat said, “He was admitted to a Nagpur-based hospital last week for the treatment of kidney stones. He was later shifted to New Delhi, but he could not survive”.
The mortal remains of Dhanorkar will be flown to his hometown, Warora, and reach till afternoon on May 30. The funeral rites will take place on May 31 morning. Dhanorkar’s father, Narayan Dhanorkar, a retired primary school teacher, passed away on May 27 evening in Nagpur after suffering from a prolonged illness. The MP could not attend his father’s last rites on May 28.
Balubhau Dhanorkar started his political journey with Balasaheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. He was made Shiv Sena’s district president of Chandrapur in 2006. In 2009, he contested in the Assembly elections from Warora but lost by a narrow margin to Congress’ Sanjay Deotale. However, he won the Assembly elections from the Bhadrawati-Warora constituency in 2014.
He was with Shiv Sena for over a decade when he defected to Congress in 2019, and contested Lok Sabha elections from Chandrapur constituency. He defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate Hansraj Ahir with a staggering margin of 44,763 votes, becoming the lone Congress Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra.
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor offered his condolences and tweeted, “Sad to learn that our @INCIndia parliamentary colleague, Suresh Narayan Dhanorkar (MP from Chandrapur constituency in Maharashtra), passed away overnight, the second demise of a Congress MP during the 17th Lok Sabha. He was only 47. My condolences to his loved ones. Om Shanti”.
Earlier in January, Congress MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh Chaudhary, 76, passed away due to cardiac arrest while participating in Bharat Jodo Yatra with party leader Rahul Gandhi. This yatra was taking place between Phillaur and Goraya towns in Punjab.
However, the death of the lone Congress MP from Maharastra may affect the upcoming general elections in 2024. The effect of having no member in the Lok Sabha can influence Congress’s depreciating performance in Maharashtra. Congress’s performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was bad, as the then-MPCC President also lost his Nanded seat to BJP’s Pratap Patil Chikhalikar. It is pertinent to note that Congress only has three Rajya Sabha MPs from Maharashtra, Imran Pratapgarhi, Kumar Ketkar and Rajni Patil.
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