Bhopal/New Delhi: Former Rajya Sabha member and senior BJP leader Prabhat Jha passed away on Friday in a hospital in Gurugram after a prolonged illness, party leaders said. He was 67.
Jha is survived by his wife and two sons, they said.
Bihar-born Jha started his career as a journalist from Gwalior. He later joined the BJP and rose to become the party's Madhya Pradesh president in 2010.
He was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh in 2008 and remained in the Upper House of Parliament till 2020, serving two terms. Jha was the BJP's national vice president in 2015.
He also edited the BJP's mouthpiece Kamal Sandesh for several years since 2006 and his frank editorials, which were not always partisan, at times made national news.
His last rites will be performed in his ancestral village in Bihar on Saturday, BJP leaders said.
Expressing anguish over his demise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he saw his working style from close quarters and his active role in strengthening the party's organisation.
"Besides public service, he also made valuable contributions in the fields of journalism and writing," the prime minister said, offering condolences to his family and admirers.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, MP BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma and senior Congress leader KK Mishra among others expressed grief over the death of the senior politician.
Published 26 July 2024, 15:33 IST