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Pune: Former Maharashtra minister and veteran Congressman Vilas Patil-Undalkar, a seven-time MLA from Karad, passed away at a private hospital in Satara following a brief illness on Monday morning. He was 82 years old. Undalkar’s last rites were to be performed at his ancestral village Undale in Karad later in the day at the time of going to the press.
Sources said that Undalkar’s health had steadily deteriorated over the last two weeks and had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Satara city.
Undalkar, affectionately known as ‘Vilaskaka’, had held the Co-operation and Law and Justice portfolios in previous Congress led governments. He was noted for his strong hold over the cooperative sector and deep grassroots connect.
A charismatic regional leader, he represented the Karad South Assembly constituency for a record 35 consecutive years – from 1980 to 2014 – before being unseated by his longstanding rival, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.
In the 2014 Assembly polls, Undalkar was unhappy over Chavan’s decision to contest from Karad South and had filed his nomination as an Independent which resulted in a Congress versus Congress fight.
Despite Undalkar being touted as the favourite to win, it was Chavan who triumphed in a three-way contest to win the Karad South contest. However, despite his defeat and intense personal differences with Chavan, Undalkar never deviated from the Congress ideology or changed his political colours.
Recently, at a public function, the stalwart Congressman, mellowed after years of feuding, had patched up his differences with Prithviraj Chavan. He was a close associate of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan. He was contemporary to Shankarrao Chavan, father of former chief minister Ashok Chavan.
“With Vilaskaka’s passing, the Congress has lost a true proponent of the party’s inclusive ideology. His death has created a void in the Congress party in western Maharashtra, and especially in social and co-operative sectors,” said Ashok Chavan, expressing grief over his demise.
He said that he served the people with “the idea of Congress” throughout his life.
“He maintained his principles and values even in the face of adversity. He was a popular leader with an inimitable grassroots appeal. He contributed a lot for Satara district as an MLA for 35 consecutive years and for Maharashtra as Co-operation Minister,” said Ashok Chavan.
Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum. Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said that Vilaskaka would always be remembered as a leader who made a vital contribution to the development of rural Maharashtra.
“He will always be remembered for his strong organizational and management skills as a member of several local political and educational establishments – be it the Satara Zilla Parishad, or as Senate member of the Shivaji University, as Director of the Satara District Central Bank or as the State Minister for Co-operation. Especially unique was the work done by Vilaskaka in the field of water conservation through the river confluence project where he had the vision to realize the concept of the hill development,” said Ajit Pawar.
After NCP chief Sharad Pawar split the Congress in 1999, it was Undalkar who held the fort for the Congress in Satara district of western Maharashtra, winning the crucial Karad South Assembly seat for consecutive three Assembly elections.
