Senior Congress leader and party chief Sonia Gandhi's long time aide Ahmed Patel died in a Gurugram hospital on Wednesday due to complications related to COVID-19.
Patel, 71, was admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on November 15.
His death comes two days after former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi passed away in Guwahati.
The year 2020 has been a big loss for Indian politics, with several leaders across the parties passing for a more permanent residence. Incidentally, Patel's last tweet on October 8 was a condolence message on the death of another doyen of the Indian politics.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan had died in October after spending weeks in a hospital.
Chirag Paswan, his son had tweeted after the death of the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, ""Papa...you are not in this world today but I know no matter where you are, you will always be with me. Miss you papa.
In response to Chirag's tweet, Ahmed Patel wrote, "Chirag, shocked to hear about the demise of your father! Ram Vilas Paswan ji was a champion of the downtrodden and had immense faith in India’s pluralism & diversity. It’s a big loss for the nation. My condolences to you, your family and all his supporters."
This became his last tweet, a week after he had announced on Twitter that he had tested position for COVID-19.
"I have tested positive for Covid19. I request all those who came in close contact with me recently, to self isolate," Patel said in a tweet on October 1.
He 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.
He was the trouble-shooter of the Congress and had steered the party out of ticklish situations many a time. He was the grand old party's pointsman for building consensus on key issues with other parties and leaders.
A soft-spoken and affable man, Patel was well respected and had friends across the aisle and in different spheres.
