Senior NCP leader Govindrao Nikam dead

Mumbai, Jan 24 (UNI) Former Member of Parliament and senior NCP leader Govindrao Nikam died of a massive cardiac arrest at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district this morning.

He was 74, and is survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons.

The funeral took place later in the day which was attended by elected representives and office-bearers of political parties in Ratnagiri district.

An educationist and co-operative movement activist in Ratnagiri district for nearly 50 years, Mr Nikam was admitted to a hospital in Savarde village, about 14 km away from Chiplun town, after he complained of uneasiness.

Mr Nikam took ill when he came to the Sahaydri Educational Institution in Savarde village in the morning to oversee the preparations for the Golden jubilee celebrations of the institution at the hands of state Water Resources Minister Ajit Pawar which was to take place today.

He was admitted to a nearby private hospital where he breathed his last.

He represented the Ratnagiri Lok Sabha constituency for two terms from 1985 to 1996 on Congress ticket. Mr Nikam quit the Congress to join Sharad Pawar's NCP when the Congress split in 1999.

Mr Nikam also served as president of the Ratnagiri District Co-operative Bank and chairman of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank. He headed and had founded several educational institutions in the district.

UNI MR MAZ SY AS1935