Former Union Minister Suresh Kalmadi passes away at 81

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Suresh Kalmadi passed away on Tuesday. The congress leader died in Maharashtra’s Pune following a prolonged illness.

Kalmadi’s mortal remains will be kept at Kalmadi House in Pune’s Erandwane until 2PM, as per a statement from his office. The cremation is expected to take place at Vaikunth smashanbhumi at 3.30PM.

The former union minister is survived by his wife, son and daughter-in-law, two married daughters and a son-in-law, as well as grandchildren.

Who was Suresh Kalmadi?

Kalmadi started his political career in 1977 by becoming the president of the Indian Youth Congress in Pune. By 1978, he was elevated to the President of the Youth Congress for Maharashtra, where he served till 1980.

In 1980, Kalmadi took over as the president of the Maharashtra Athletics Association. Under his leadership, Pune held selection trials to represent India at the Moscow Olympics.

In 1982, Kalmadi served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, a position he went on to hold for three more terms.

In 1996, he was elected to the Lok Sabha under former prime minister Narasimha Rao. During this tenure, he also served as the Minister of State for Railways from 1995 to 1996.