A Congress Seva Dal functionary died after collapsing during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra's Nanded district on Tuesday, a senior official said.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the 3,570km-long foot-march, expressed grief over the death of Seva Dal general secretary Krishna Kumar Pandey.
Paying tributes, he said Pandey held the national flag till the very last moment.
"His dedication towards the country will be a source of inspiration," Gandhi said, while extending condolences to Pandey's family.
Later, speaking at a gathering at Biloli in Nanded district, where party leaders paid respect to Pandey and recalled their past interactions with him, the former Congress president said the Seva Dal functionary gave us life for the rally and the party can never forget this.
“We thought that all will complete the journey, but one of our beloved party colleagues will not reach Srinagar (where the yatra will conclude early next year). But his thoughts will complete this journey with us,” Gandhi said.
While walking with senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and others, Pandey felt shortness of breath and uneasiness, a senior district official said.
Pandey was taken in an ambulance to Shankar Nagar primary health facility where doctors declared him dead, the official said, adding the deceased was a resident of Nagpur.
The body was later taken to Naygaon rural hospital for post-mortem, he added.
Congress leader Ramesh said Pandey was holding the tricolour and walking with him and party veteran Digvijaya Singh when he collapsed.
"After a few minutes, as is the practice, he handed the flag to a colleague and moved back. Thereafter he collapsed and was taken in an ambulance to a hospital where most sadly he was declared dead," Ramesh tweeted.
"He was a staunch Congressman and used to take on the RSS in Nagpur. It is a most humbling moment for all the Yatris," the former Union minister added.
"The Yatris, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and @RahulGandhi paid last respects to Krishna Kumar Pandey this afternoon at the Yatra halt site in Atkali village in Nanded district," Ramesh said in another tweet.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan also condoled Pandey's death, saying the party has lost a "staunch and loyal warrior".
The Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra arrived in Maharashtra on Monday night and entered its 62nd day on Tuesday.
Gandhi visited Gurdwara Yaadgari Baba Zoravar Singh ji Fateh Singh ji on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti a few hours after the yatra entered Maharashtra on Monday night from neighbouring Telangana.
At the gurdwara, the Lok Sabha member from Kerala prayed for harmony and equality, the party tweeted.
During the foot-march on Tuesday, Gandhi was flanked by senior Maharashtra Congress leaders, including former chief ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan, state party president Nana Patole and others like Balasaheb Thorat, Manikrao Thakre and Naseem Khan.
