Former Punjab minister and senior BJP leader Chuni Lal Bhagat passed away at a hospital in Jalandhar on Thursday. He was 93.

Bhagat, who served in the Punjab government and held important portfolios including Local Government, Medical Education and Research, Forest and Wildlife, and Labour, had a long political career spanning several decades.

Born on December 1, 1932, in Sialkot, Bhagat studied up to the matriculation level before entering the business world. He was involved in the export of sports goods before becoming active in politics.

Bhagat first contested the Jalandhar South Assembly constituency in 1985 as an Independent candidate but was unsuccessful. He returned to electoral politics in 1997, this time as a BJP candidate, and won from Jalandhar South to enter the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

He retained the constituency in 2007. Following the delimitation of constituencies, Jalandhar South was reorganised, and Bhagat successfully contested from the newly formed Jalandhar West constituency in 2012.

In 2011, he was elected Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly after Satpal Gosain resigned from the position.

Bhagat later served as a cabinet minister in the Punjab government, handling key departments. He also served as the BJP Legislature Party leader in the Punjab Assembly from 2012 to 2017.

He chose not to contest the 2017 Assembly elections.

His death marks the end of a long political career in Punjab, particularly his association with the BJP and public life in the Jalandhar region.