Nanded/Sangli, Sep 5 (IANS): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Nanded MP, Vasantrao Chavan, officials said here on Thursday.

The senior leaders went to the home of Chavan in Naigaon, offered their condolences and paid homage to a garlanded photo of the late leader, along with Nana Patole, Ramesh Chennithala and others.

"The demise of our senior Congressman and a grassroots leader, Vasantrao Chavan, is an irreparable loss for the party. We remember him by paying our respects and humble tributes before his family members," said Kharge.

He recalled how Chavan started his political career as a Gram Panchayat member, worked selflessly to promote the Congress ideology in the rural areas and contributed immensely to society.

Chavan, 70, passed away on August 26 after battling a prolonged illness, barely months after he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nanded in 2024, trouncing the Bharatiya Janata Party's MP Prataprao Chikhalikar.

He plunged into politics at the village level, as a Sarpanch (headman) of Naigaon in 1978, worked his way as President of Zilla Parishad and then was elected to both Houses of Maharashtra Legislature, serving for over 16 years.

Joining the Congress in 2014, he was elected to the Nanded Lok Sabha seat this year where the party was in shambles after the sitting strongman Ashok Chavan quit to join the BJP earlier this year.

Vasantrao Chavan's victory sent strong signals to Congress rank and file that the party was not erased in Nanded and could put up a spectacular performance without the presence of high-profile leaders who became defectors.

He served in various capacities in different committees of the state government, and was active in academics, serving as the President of Janata High School in Nanded, and other social activities.