Maharashtra: Former BJP MP Haribhau Jawale passes away

Jawale was a two-time MP, having been elected from Jalgaon in a byelection in 2007 and then from Raver in 2009.

BJP’s former two-time MP and MLA from Jalgaon district Haribhau Jawale, who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and was undergoing treatment at Bombay Hospital in Mumbai, passed away on Tuesday. He was 67. He is the first senior politician in the state to have succumbed to Covid-19.

Jawale was a two-time MP, having been elected from Jalgaon in a byelection in 2007 and then from Raver in 2009. He was also a two-time MLA, having been elected from Yawal in 1999 and then from Raver in 2014. He was presently the BJP’s district chief for Jalgaon Rural.

Jawale had chronic asthma and had tested positive in the first week of June. He was moved to Mumbai on June 3. He first approached Breach Candy hospital, but since beds were full, he went to Bombay hospital. He underwent treatment for almost a fortnight. According to Dr Gautam Bhansali, from Bombay hospital, an X-ray showed spread of pneumonia in his lungs.

He was admitted in an intensive care unit and later on Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) to provide oxygen support. Doctors also arranged for Remdesivir drug for him, however the hospital did not disclose how. “His condition was bad in the last few days. He kept asking me to save him. He could not breathe properly,” BJP leader Girish Mahajan said.

In the last few days, his oxygen saturation levels remained lower than 90, and doctors said he required high pressure oxygen. The pneumonia, however, kept aggressively increasing in his chest.

“He was going to be administered Remdesivir today, we were also going to put him on a ventilator. But he passed away before that,” Bhansali said.

He was cremated in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. The decision to cremate him in Mumbai was taken to avoid the infection risk of transporting his body to Jalgaon. Reacting to his death, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said, “Jawale’s death has come as a shock. He was our grassroot worker who started as an RSS worker. His contribution in the field of agriculture, irrigation and rural development will always be remembered.”

Former chief minister and Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis termed the death as “very unfortunate and sad”. “Haribhau Jawale served both in state Assembly and Parliament. He had immense knowledge and pursued issues related to agriculture, rural development,” he said.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said, “The death of Jawale is shocking. A senior leader, he had always pursued issues related to agriculture and cooperative sector.”