Bihar minister Kapil Deo Kamat dies of COVID-19

Bihar's Panchayati Raj minister Kapil Deo Kamat succumbed to COVID-19 early on Friday at AIIMS, Patna, family sources said.

He was 70.

Kamat is survived by two sons and four daughters. His wife died a few months ago.

"Kapil Deo Kamat died of COVID-19 at 1:50 am (Friday) here at AIIMS, Patna. He was suffering from kidney failure and had been on ventilator over the past few days," Dr Sanjeev Kumar, the COVID-19 nodal officer of AIIMS-Patna, said.

The Janata Dal-United MLA from Babubarhi assembly constituency was admitted to the hospital on October 1 after he tested positive for the disease.

Condoling the death of the panchayati raj minister, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Kamat will be cremated with full state honours.

"He was an efficient administrator and a popular leader. I am personally saddened by Kamat's untimely demise. His death has caused an irreparable loss to the field of politics," Kumar said.

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and several other leaders also mourned Kamat's demise.

Modi termed his death as "unfortunate", and said Kamat always sympathised with the poor.

Notably, the JD-U has fielded Kamat's daughter-in-law Meena from Babubarhi this time, as he was not keeping well.

Babubarhi is set to go to polls during the third phase of Bihar elections, on November 7.

Kamat is the second minister in Nitish Kumar's cabinet to succumb to the infection this week.

Minister of backward classes and extremely backward class welfare Vinod Singh died in Delhi on October 12 due to post-COVID complications.