Babulal Gaur, ex-CM of Madhya Pradesh, dies at 89

Gaur, a veteran BJP leader, served as Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 2004-2005

Babulal Gaur rakesh singh Babulal Gaur | Twitter handle of BJP MP Rakesh Singh

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Babulal Gaur passed away on Wednesday morning at a private hospital in Bhopal after a prolonged illness.

Gaur (89) passed away due to cardiac arrest, Narmada Hospital Director Dr Rajesh Sharma told PTI.

Gaur was suffering from various old-age-related ailments and was hospitalised for quite some time.

Gaur, a veteran BJP leader, served as Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 2004-2005 and represented his traditional Govindpura Vidhan Sabha seat 10 times. Gaur became chief minister after the brief tenure of Uma Bharti ended in August 2004. Gaur was chief minister for little more than a year, making way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan in late 2005. Gaur served as home minister in the government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Born on June 2, 1930, at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Gaur emerged as a powerful and popular leader in Madhya Pradesh, initially as a trade union leader and later as MLA.