Shivraj Patil, a Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister, died at the age of 90 in Latur on Friday.
Patil was once considered to be a likely candidate for 2007’s presidential elections from the Indian National Congress alliance UPA.
He also had strong backing from the the party chief Sonia Gandhi and was considered her favourite choice. However, the left, especially the CPI (M), had reservations about him.
Congress had banked on then Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister Mayawati, who later agreed to support Patil to succeed President PJ Abdul Kalam. Mayawati had backed out from supporting the candidature of Shushil Kuamr Shinde.
The left, however, strongly opposed and said that they didn't want Shivraj Patil in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Some Congress leaders were also sceptical of Sonia Ghandi's choice and speculated that it was due to him being a mentor to her from 1999 to 2004.
Other strong UPA candidates included Pranab Mukherjee. Howeever reports say that Patil was prefered by Congress over Pranab in 2007. Pranab later became the President of India in 2012.
Eventually, the presidential seat went to Prathiba Patil, then governor of Rajasthan, who became the country’s first woman president. She was also backed by Sonia Gandhi along with Left alliances, despite not being named as a possible candidate in early considerations.
Shivraj Patil's political career before and after 2007 was marred by his handling of terror attacks and bombings.
He had to resign as Union Home Minister after he admitted moral responsibility for lapses in security after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
He later went on to become governer of Punjab and Chandigarh administrator till 2015.
Prime Minister Modi expressed his sadness over the passing of Patil. In a social media post, he said that he was, “Saddened by the passing of Shri Shivraj Patil Ji. He was an experienced leader, having served as MLA, MP, Union Minister, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha during his long years in public life. He was passionate about contributing to the welfare of society. I have had many interactions with him over the years, the most recent one being when he came to my residence a few months ago. My thoughts are with his family in this sad hour. Om Shanti."
Congress MP K suresh said “This morning, in our Congress Lok Sabha MPs' meeting, we passed a condolence resolution. Shivraj Patil was one of the tallest leaders of the Congress Party... This is a huge loss for the country."
Mallikarjun Khatrge called him “a great statesman of dignity.”
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “As principled, well-informed, and steadfast leadership that articulated positions firmly, he held a place of respect in the nation's politics. With his passing, we have lost towering, guiding leadership in politics and social affairs.”
