Senior NCP leader D P Tripathi passes away

New Delhi, Jan 02: Senior NCP leader D P Tripathi passed away on Thursday in New Delhi after a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 67.

"Deeply Saddened to hear about the demise of Shri.D.P Tripathi Ji. He was the General Secretary of @NCPspeaks, and a guide and mentor to all of us," NCP leader Supriya Sule tweeted.

"We will miss his wise counsel and guidance which he had given us from the day NCP was established," Sule said. "May he rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers with his family members. Heartfelt Condolences."

Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal said Tripathi's demise has "created a vacuum that cannot be filled again", and caused a big loss to the party.

"The NCP has lost a senior mentor forever," Bhujbal tweeted. NCP chief spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik also condoled Tripathi's demise, saying the former Rajya Sabha member had made valuable contribution towards expansion of the party's base.

Tripathi, the general secretary of the NCP and a former students' union leader, was battling cancer.