Ahilyanagar senior leader Bhanudas Kotkar dies of heart attack at 74

Bhanudas Eknath Kotkar, a senior leader who wielded influence in Ahilyanagar's politics and cooperative sector for several decades, died this morning. He was 74. He died of a heart attack. He was a former city president of the Congress and had also served as chairman of the agricultural produce market committee.

His health suddenly worsened this morning and he felt heart trouble in his chest. He was rushed to Anandrishiji Hospital in Ahilyanagar, but died during treatment. His death has ended an influential and much-discussed chapter in the political circles of Ahilyanagar.

Kotkar built his political identity as a former Congress city president and carved out a distinct, strong place in local politics. He had very close and warm ties with the late former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.

For many years he held sway over the politics of the Ahilyanagar agricultural produce market committee. Besides serving as the committee's chairman, his role in the various developments in the cooperative sector was always seen as decisive.

Whether it was the political equations of Ahilyanagar's Kedgaon area or the politics of the cooperative sector and the market committee, Kotkar's name was always at the centre. Besides politics, his family was also actively involved in several business fields, including the hotel business.

His elder son Sandeep Kotkar has been mayor of the Ahilyanagar Municipal Corporation and carried the political legacy forward. He was also related by marriage to Arunkaka Jagtap, a former Nationalist Congress Party MLA, which added to the family's weight in political circles.

Kotkar's life was known across the state for his political clout, and equally for some serious court cases. After he was convicted in the Ashok Lande murder case, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The case brought his name to the centre of discussion across the state.

His personality remained a subject of talk because of these varied and contrasting aspects: political clout, a hold on the cooperative sector, a business career and court battles. His death marks the end of a turbulent and significant chapter in the political and cooperative history of Ahilyanagar. His family, relatives and associates are in mourning.