Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel passes away at 71

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and the party's top strategist Ahmed Patel died in a Gurugram hospital on Wednesday due to multi-organ failure. 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 secretary for a long time.

Patel was currently a member of the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. He was an eight-time parliamentarian- five times in the Rajya Sabha, three times in the Lok Sabha.

Patel was a close confidant of Rajiv Gandhi and the parliamentary secretary to the prime Minister from 1985 to 1986.

Patel is the second senior Congressman to have died due to Covid-related complications, as his death comes two days after former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi passed away in Guwahati.

Patel leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter.