Veteran Gujarat tribal leader and 10-time legislator Mohansinh Rathwa passed away at his home in Umarva village on Sunday, his family said. He was 82.
Rathwa’s health had deteriorated over the last four years, and he had since withdrawn from active politics.
“Mohansinh Rathwa was known not only as a politician but as a strong leader fighting for the rights of the tribal community. This leader, who was connected to the land, had been away from active politics for a long time due to ill health and was fighting against the illness, and breathed his last today,” his son, Rajendrasinh Rathwa, wrote in a post on X.
“The sad demise of my revered father, who made public service his life’s work, has caused an irreparable loss to our family. The dedicated work he did for social service, public welfare and human values throughout his life will always inspire us. Om Shanti,” he said.
Rathwa’s political journey began in 1965, when he was elected a sarpanch before contesting and winning the Pavi Jetpur assembly seat as a Congress candidate in 1972.
He also joined the Janata Party and Janata Dal in between and was elected as MLA from both parties before winning the 1998 election on a Congress ticket.
Rathwa is remembered for resolving the irrigation water problem in his constituency, and the Sukhi irrigation scheme is popularly credited to him.
Rathwa was one of the senior and popular tribal leaders of Gujarat who was elected MLA 10 times from the tribal-reserved Chhota Udepur and Pavi Jetpur assembly seats.
He was a minister in the Congress government from 1990 to 95.
He lost an assembly election only once. In 2002, when the elections were held against the backdrop of the Godhra riots, he lost to a BJP candidate.
He won the next election, but his victory margin shrank steadily. In 2012, he won by over 2,500 votes against the BJP’s Gulabsinh Rathwa, while in 2017, he won against the BJP’s Arjun Rathwa by over 1,000 votes.
Ahead of the 2022 assembly election, Rathwa joined the ruling BJP along with his son, Rajendrasinh Rathwa, who was elected an MLA from Chhota Udepur assembly seat in the same year.
State Forest Minister Arjun Modhwadia expressed grief over Rathwa’s passing.
“His dedicated life for public service, public welfare and the upliftment of the tribal community will always be an inspiration. It will be a memorable experience for me to have had the opportunity to work with him in the Gujarat legislative assembly,” he said on X.
State BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma said Rathwa’s unwavering devotion to public service, efforts for the upliftment of the tribal community and his invaluable contribution to public welfare will always be remembered.
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