SHIMLA: BJP leader and the party’s chief whip, Narinder Bragta (70), died at PGIMER, Chandigarh, on Saturday morning.
Bragta had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 13 and had recovered, but was admitted to PGI Chandigarh later after his health deteriorated.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who had visited PGI to enquire about his health on Friday, said Bragta was a mass leader whose contribution in development of the state, particularly in the horticulture sector, was immense and the void created by his death would be difficult to fill.
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya also expressed grief, terming Bragta an honest and hardworking leader.
He lauded his contribution in the field of horticulture development and his efforts towards the welfare of state, particularly Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly constituency.
Thakur said Bragta’s passing away was a personal loss as he was a committed BJP leader.
State BJP chief and MP Suresh Kashyap, council of ministers, MLAs, chairmen and vice chairmen of boards and corporations and other leaders also paid floral tributes to Bragta.
The last rites were performed at his ancestral village.
Bragta’s elder son Chetan Bragta informed about the former’s death on social media.
Bragta, MLA from Jubbar-Kotkhai assembly seat of Shimla district, was born on September 15, 1952, at Shimla.