Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra: Shivaji Kardile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Rahuri in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district, passed away on Friday following a heart attack. He was 66.

According to sources close to the family, Kardile suffered a heart attack in the morning and was immediately taken to a hospital in Ahilyanagar, where doctors pronounced him dead.

He is survived by his wife, a son, and daughters. His final rites are scheduled to take place later in the day.

Kardile began his political journey as a sarpanch and rose through the ranks of local governance. He was first elected as an MLA from Rahuri in 2009 on a BJP ticket. He successfully retained the seat in the 2014 elections but lost to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Prajakta Tanpure in 2019. Kardile made a comeback in the 2024 assembly elections, regaining the Rahuri seat.

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar, who represents Karjat-Jamkhed in the same district, expressed his condolences to Kardile’s family.

“The people-oriented work he did in various positions such as MLA, Minister of State, Chairman of Ahilyanagar District Bank, etc., will always be remembered,” Pawar said in a post on X.

Kardile was widely regarded as a grassroots leader with strong connections to his constituency and a long-standing presence in local politics.

PTI