List of key political leaders who died in mishaps during incumbency

Hyderabad: The tragic death of 37-year-old legislator G Lasya Nanditha in a car accident on Friday, barely two-and-a-half-months of swearing in as the Secunderabad MLA, brings forth similar deaths of other political leaders from the annals of history.

Here’s a list of politicians who died while in office in sudden accidents.

Sanjay Gandhi on June 23, 1980: Indira Gandhi’s elder son Sanjay Gandhi was made Congress general secretary a month prior to his death in an aviation accident. He lost control of the aircraft he was flying during an aerobatic manoeuvre and crashed near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi. He had taken charge as the Lok Sabha MP in January and died within six months at the young age of 33.

Rajesh Pilot (Rajesh Prasad Bidhuri) on June 11, 2000: Rajesh Pilot was the Congress MP from Dausa constituency when he was killed in a car crash near Jaipur, Rajasthan, at the age of 55. The former Air Force pilot-turned-politician suffered multiple injuries when the jeep he was driving to the airport collided head-on with a bus in his constituency.

Madhavrao J Scindia on September 30, 2001: Hailing from the royal family of Gwalior, Congress MP Madhavrao Scindia was 56-year-old when he died in a plane crash at Motta village, on the outskirts of Manipuri district of UP. He was on his way to address a political rally in Kanpur. All eight people on board the private plane (Beechcraft King Air C 90) died when the plane caught fire and crashed.

GMC Balayogi on March 3, 2002: The speaker of the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha till his death at the age of 50 years, GMC Balayogi, the TDP MP from Amlapuram constituency, died in a Bell 206 Helicopter crash in Kaikalur, West Godavari district, AP. The chopper lost height and its rotor hit a coconut tree making it come crashing to the ground.

Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy on September 2, 2009: The incumbent 14th chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh died in a helicopter crash while flying over Nallamala forest of Andhra Pradesh. The remains of the Bell 430 helicopter were found on Rudrakonda hill near Kurnool. He was 60 years of age. YS Reddy won every election he contested and had been a four-time MP and five-time MLA. At the time of his death, he was serving his second term as the chief minister.

Gopinath Pandurang Munde on June 3, 2014: In about a week of taking oath as the Union minister of Drinking Water, Sanitation and Panchayat Raj in the Narendra Modi cabinet, former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and five-time MLA Munde was killed in a car collision in New Delhi at the age of 64.