UP minister, ex-India opener Chetan Chauhan dies

LUCKNOW/GURUGRAM: UP cabinet minister and former Test cricketer Chetan Chauhan passed away at a Gurugram hospital due to Covid-induced health complications on Sunday. He was cabinet minister for home guard, sainik welfare, political pension and civil defence.

Chauhan, 73, is survived by his wife and son Vinayak.
He was found Covid positive in Lucknow on July 12 and admitted to SGPGI. He was shifted to Medanta, Gurugram later when his condition deteriorated. Hospital sources said that he suffered from multi-organ failure.
“He was put on a ventilator on Saturday as his condition worsened. He succumbed to the infection. He tested negative on August 12, however, he tested positive again on August 13,” said a source from the hospital.
Tributes pour in, PM, other leaders too condole death
He also developed kidney infection and his serum amylase was high. He was put on inotropes but his condition did not improve. He was suffering from pancreatitis and candida fungal infection which spread across his body. Later, he developed septicaemia which led to multi-organ failure. He was Covid-19 positive,” said a source from the hospital.
Political leaders and sportsmen paid glowing tributes to Chauhan, who was an MLA from Naugawan Sadat in Amroha since 2017. Earlier, he had won the Amroha Lok Sabha seat in 1991 and 1998 and had been a BJP member for the past three decades.
As a cricketer, he played 40 Tests in a career spanning over a decade and is known for not having scored a Test century, his highest score being 97. He also served as manager of Indian team during their tour of Australia and has been an administrator at the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in various capacities.
He was appointed chairman of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in June 2016 and served there for a year before taking the poll plunge again in UP during 2017 state elections.
“Shri Chetan Chauhan Ji distinguished himself as a wonderful cricketer and later as a diligent political leader. He made effective contributions to public service and strengthened the BJP in UP. Anguished by his passing away. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti,” PM Narendra Modi said in his tweet.
Chauhan is the second UP minister to have succumbed to coronavirus. On August 2, state technical education minister Kamal Rani Varun, 62, died days after testing positive for Covid-19.