Mumbai, Jan 13 (IANS) Thousands of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers paid homage to senior leader and legislator Gurunath Kulkarni Thursday morning. Kulkarni, 70, passed away here Wednesday after prolonged illness, a party official said.

The body of the party's state general secretary has been kept in the NCP state headquarters at Nariman Point in south Mumbai to enable party workers to pay homage. It will be taken in a procession to the Dadar Crematorium later in the afternoon.

"Several party workers are pouring in to pay their last tributes to Kulkarniji," a party worker said.

Condolences also poured in from several other political leaders.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said: "We have lost a multifaceted personality who had tremendous organisational hold and study of Konkan, Mumbai, and Maharashtra. Our sympathies with his family for this irreparable loss."

Former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh lamented the loss of an "energetic and enthusiastic leader".

Kulkarni is survived by his wife and a daughter, a medico settled in the US.

The late leader had been suffering from a heart ailment and diabetes.