MUMBAI/SURAT: Mohan Delkar, a seven-time Lok Sabha parliamentarian from the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH), was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on Monday.
Delkar (58) was found hanging by the ceiling fan of his room at the sea-facing hotel in the Marine Drive area.
According to sources close to the late leader, Delkar had left behind a six-page note at the Hotel Sea Green where he was staying. However, the content of the suicide note is not yet made public by the police that have launched a probe into the incident.
The cause of death will be known after an autopsy, police said. Delkar is survived by his wife Kala, son Abhinav and a married daughter.
Delkar had contested as an independent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and won for the seventh time.
Starting as a trade union leader in the industrial belt of Silvassa, the headquarter of DNG, Delkar began his electoral career at a young age of 27. Delkar won six consecutive elections from DNH during 1989-2009. He contested his first LS election in 1989 on a Congress ticket and again in 1991 and 1996 polls.
In 1998, he switched loyalty to BJP and won again, but he rejoined the Congress and lost the 2009 and 2014 general elections.
In October 2019, Delkar parted ways with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and entered into an alliance with Nitish Kumar’s Janta Dal (United) for the district panchayat and Silvassa municipality elections. In fact, a team of JD (U) was scheduled to visit DNH on Wednesday to prepare a report along with Delkar about the issues concerning local residents, said a close aide of the deceased MP.
Of late, Delkar had been at loggerhead with local administration over several issues.
Delkar was also a member of the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and a member of the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Lower House.
"I am shocked at learning this news about the passing away of Mohal Delkar. What prompted a strong tribal leader like Mohan Delkar to take this extreme step? Everyone -from DNH to Delhi- knew about why he was in pain? As an MP, he had raised local issues in the Parliament but nobody would listen to him. Local administration was not following the protocol for MP. This should be investigated," Congress leader Prabhu Tokiya, posted on social media.