Rajasthan Congress MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat passes away

Congress MLA Gajendra Singh Shaktawat passed away on Wednesday morning in Delhi due to a liver ailment. He is the fourth MLA from Rajasthan to have died in the last six months.

Shaktawat, who represented Vallabhnagar seat in Udaipur district in the Assembly, breathed his last at 5 am.

His cremation will be held at 11 am on Thursday at his native village Bhinder in Rajasthan.

Shaktawat, 48, was admitted to the ILBS Hospital for treatment of a liver ailment in December 2020. He had tested coronavirus positive during treatment, but recovered. However, he was battling liver ailment for the last 37 days.

Known as a camp follower of former state Congress chief Sachin Pilot, he had supported the latter during his rebellion against the state leadership in July last year.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pilot and other leaders conveyed their condolences on the MLA's death.

Gehlot also cancelled a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Wednesday.

On October 6 last year, Congress MLA Kailash Trivedi from Bhilwara's Sahada seat had died due to coronavirus infection at the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal, a Cabinet Minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, died in Gurugram during treatment. Meghwal represented Sujangarh seat in Churu district.

Rajsamand MLA and BJP leader Kiran Maheshwari died of COVID-19 in November last year at the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

Currently, there are 196 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. The Congress has 104 MLAs, BJP 71, Communist Party of India-Marxist 2, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party 3, Bharatiya Tribal Party 2, Rashtriya Lok Dal 1, and Independents 13. By-elections will have to be held for Sahada, Sujangarh, Rajsamand, and Vallabhnagar.