MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary’s death: What happened during the Bharat Jodo Yatra?

While Chaudhary’s son Vikramjit Singh walked alongside Gandhi, Chaudhary hurried to the next spot where he had assembled people of all religions to greet Gandhi. The Congress worker said that Chaudhary went ahead to ensure that everything was in order.

Around 8.40 am, the yatra reached the leprosy ashram at Phillaur, where Chaudhary had reportedly planned a meeting between Gandhi and the people of the ashram. He was standing beside Rahul Gandhi when he suddenly collapsed. Some eyewitnesses said that he fell because of the rush.

“Rahul Gandhi immediately called for an ambulance in which Chaudhary was rushed to the hospital and he sent Punjab Congress president and Leader of Opposition, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa, respectively, to the hospital,” said a party leader.

While the Yatra continued for a while, it was halted as Rahul Gandhi too rushed to the hospital. Chaudhary had been declared brought dead at the hospital in Phagwara and initial reports suggested he died of a cardiac arrest.

The Yatra – Rahul Gandhi was to walk from Ladowal to Phagwara with a couple of breaks – was halted on Saturday.

Incidentally, Phillaur comes under the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency while the Phillaur Assembly seat is represented by Chaudhary’s son Vikramjit. The Chaudhary family residence is also in Phillaur.

Party workers said that they were highly excited about the yatra and had been making arrangements for several days. MP Chaudhary had worked tirelessly finalising the arrangements, they said.

Senior Congress leader, former minister, MP and sitting MLA from Kapurthala, Rana Gurjit Singh, who was accompanying Rahul Gandhi, said that everything had happened in front of him. “It’s an irreparable loss to the party. MP Chaudhary belongs to a family of political stalwarts as his father had contested in 1927 even before India had gained independence. He passed away in his constituency, close to his residence and in front of the senior-most national leader,” Singh said.

Family sources said that Chaudhary was health conscious and used to spend half an hour in the gym every day. He used to walk for 10-15 minutes daily, they added.