Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jan 18: Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Raj K Purohit, a prominent voice of north Indian communities in Mumbai, passed away following an illness, sources said on Sunday. He was 71.

Purohit breathed his last at a private hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. A well-known figure in BJP’s Mumbai unit, he had served as the party’s city president, a minister in the Maharashtra government and as BJP’s chief whip in the state assembly between 2014 and 2019.

Considered one of the most influential leaders of the BJP’s city unit at his peak, Purohit wielded considerable clout in south Mumbai. However, he was denied a ticket in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Party leaders said his demise has left Maharashtra’s political and social life poorer, describing him as an experienced and erudite leader with deep grassroots connections. BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde expressed grief over his passing, saying he was pained to learn of Purohit’s death.

“From a Mumbai municipal corporator to an MLA and a minister in the Maharashtra Assembly, my friend Raj Purohit was a popular public representative deeply connected with the people,” Tawde said in a post on X. He described Purohit as a major messiah of migrant tenants in Mumbai who worked throughout his life for their upliftment.

Calling his demise an irreparable loss for the BJP in Maharashtra, Tawde said he prayed for peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family and admirers.

In the recently concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, Purohit’s son and BJP leader Akash Purohit won from ward number 221.

Sources said the mortal remains of the deceased leader will be kept for public homage at Rajhans Building on Marine Drive from 11 am to 1 pm on Sunday.