Former Delhi Congress chief Ram Babu is dead

Ram Babu Sharma, Congress legislator from north east Delhi's Rohtas Nagar constituency and a former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief, died today after cardiac arrest. He was 53.

Ram Babu Sharma, Congress legislator from north east Delhi's Rohtas Nagar constituency and a former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief, died today after cardiac arrest. He was 53.

HT Image

Sharma, survived by wife and three children, was cremated in the capital.

Sharma died at 1 am following a heart attack at the Apollo Hospital here, said DPCC president J P Aggarwal.

"Ram Babu was suffering from cancer and was admitted in the hospital Jan 16. However, he had a heart attack and passed away early this morning," hospital officials said.

His body was brought to the DPCC office at 1 pm for people to pay their last tributes to the departed soul. Many senior political leaders from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party visited.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues were present at the Nigam Bodh Ghat near Kashmere Gate for the last rites.

"He was cremated around 2:30 pm," Aggarwal said.

Sharma began his political career as a worker of National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and was elected to the Delhi assembly for the second time in last year's polls from Rohtas Nagar constituency. He was first elected in 2003.

He was the DPCC chief from 2003 to 2007, after which Aggarwal took over.

He twice successfully contested the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls and was the leader of the house and chairman of the MCD standing committee.