Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav pays last respects to the mortal remains of senior party leader and former LoP in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Ram Govind Chaudhary, before the final rites in Lucknow. Photo: X/@yadavakhilesh via PTI
Samajwadi Party veteran and former Uttar Pradesh Minister Ram Govind Chaudhary was cremated with state honours in his native Ballia district on Sunday (September 27, 2026), with a large number of party leaders, workers and supporters attending his last rites.
Chaudhary, an eight-time MLA and former leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, died on Friday (September 25, 2026) while undergoing treatment at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow.
He was 73.
His mortal remains were brought from Lucknow to his residence at the district headquarters on Saturday evening (September 26, 2026) for people to pay their last respects and were later taken to his native village, Gosainpur, in the Sikanderpur area.
A large number of people gathered at Gosainpur from Sunday morning (September 27, 2026) to pay their final respects to the veteran socialist leader. Supporters bid an emotional farewell to Chaudhary as his mortal remains were taken out in a final procession attended by thousands.
He was given a guard of honour at his residence before the funeral procession began.
Samajwadi Party Mahila Sabha national president Seema Rajbhar and MLA Prabhu Narayan Singh became emotional while paying their last respects to Chaudhary.
His last rites were performed at a site near the banks of the Sarayu River in Gosainpur. His only son, Ranjit Chaudhary, lit the funeral pyre.
SP MPs Ramashankar Vidyarthi and Ram Bhuwal Nishad, former Minister and MLAs Om Prakash Singh and Ziauddin Rizvi, MLAs Sangram Singh Yadav and Jai Prakash Anchal, and Legislative Council members Ravi Shankar Singh ‘Pappu’ and Ashutosh Sinha, besides leaders of various political parties, were present at the funeral.
Chaudhary’s death had drawn tributes from SP president Akhilesh Yadav and other party leaders. At a condolence meeting at the SP headquarters in Lucknow on Saturday (September 26, 2026), Yadav described Chaudhary as a lifelong crusader for social justice who always prioritised people’s cause.
Mr. Yadav had said Chaudhary had kept alive the socialist values and principles under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
Chaudhary, who was born on July 9, 1953, in Ballia, served as leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from March 2017 to March 2022. He was also a minister in the State Government.
Published – September 27, 2026 05:01 pm IST
