Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Dass Tandon dies at 90, seven-day mourning announced

Senior officials in the Governor’s Office said Tandon, who had not been keeping well for a few days, suffered a heart attack around 8 am and was admitted in the ICU at Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital in Raipur.

Balramji Dass Tandon (C) (Express photo/File)

Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Dass Tandon died in Raipur on Tuesday afternoon following a heart attack at the Raj Bhawan, the Governor’s Office said. Tandon, 90, was a six-time MLA from Punjab, a former deputy chief minister of the state, and was one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP.

He was appointed Chhattisgarh Governor in July 2014. The state government has announced a weeklong mourning period. Senior officials in the Governor’s Office said Tandon, who had not been keeping well for a few days, suffered a heart attack around 8 am and was admitted in the ICU at Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital in Raipur. Hospital officials said he died around 2 pm. The body will be airlifted to Punjab, officials said.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, Tandon fought his first election in 1953 and was elected a municipal councillor in Amritsar. He won his first Assembly seat from Amritsar in 1957, and went on to represent that Vidhan Sabha constituency five times.

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In 1997, he was also elected MLA from Rajpura. A minister in multiple Cabinets, he was the deputy CM in the Gurnam Singh-led Akali Dal-Jana Sangh coalition government. Tandon was jailed during the Emergency for 19 months.
In his condolence message Chief Minister Raman Singh said he feels like he has lost a parent.

Tributes poured in from all quarters on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, former Chhatisgarh CM Ajit Jogi, state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel, Leader of Opposition T S Singhdeo and other leaders paying their respects.

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