Arif Aqueel, a former Madhya Pradesh minister and senior Congress leader, passed away on Monday at a private hospital in Bhopal at the age of 72 after a long illness.
During his extensive political career, Aqueel won the Bhopal North assembly seat six times. He is survived by his wife, three sons, and one daughter.
He first won as an Independent MLA in 1990 and subsequently joined the Congress. Aqueel emerged victorious from the Bhopal North seat in the 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018 assembly polls. However, he lost the election from Bhopal North in 1993 as a Janata Dal-supported candidate.
Aqueel was a notable Muslim figure of the party and served as a cabinet minister in the Congress governments led by Digvijaya Singh (1996-2003) and Kamal Nath (2018-2020).
Both Singh and Nath expressed their sorrow at the passing of Aqueel.
Follow us
