New Delhi, Nov 25,2020: Senior Congress leader and the party’s top strategist Ahmed Patel died in a Gurugram hospital on Wednesday. He was suffering from complications related to COVID-19.
Patel (71), who was critical for a few days, was admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on November 15 after he developed complications.
His son Faisal said he died at 3.30 am.
“With profound grief & sorrow, I regret to announce the sad and untimely demise of my father, Mr. Ahmed Patel at 25/11/2020, 03:30 AM. After testing positive for Covid-19 around a month back, his health worsened further due to multiple organ failures. May Allah grant him Jannatul firdaus, inshallah,” he said in a tweet.
He also urged all well-wishers to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations by avoiding mass gatherings.
Patel was one of the closest aides of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her political adviser for a long time. He was the trouble-shooter of the Congress and had steered the party out of difficult situations many a time.
The veteran Congress leader had himself announced on Twitter on October 1 that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and all those who had come in close contact of him should also get tested.
Patel was an eight-time parliamentarian — five times in the Rajya Sabha, three times in the Lok Sabha. His last Rajya Sabha election was contested keenly.
He was currently the Congress treasurer, a post that he occupied thrice.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, condoled Patel’s demise.
