Sadhan Pande, a veteran TMC politician, has died at the age of 71.

Sadhan Pande, a veteran Trinamool Congress lawmaker and senior West Bengal minister, died on Sunday in a Mumbai hospital after a protracted illness, according to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. His daughter Shreya survives him at the age of 71.

"Sadhan Pande, a senior colleague, party leader, and Cabinet Minister, died this morning in Mumbai. For a long time, we had a beautiful relationship. I'm heartbroken at this loss. My sincere sympathies to his family, friends, and supporters "Banerjee sent out a tweet. 

The chief minister stated in another condolence letter that she had lost an elder and would miss his guidance on several issues.

Pande was a five-term MLA from the Burtola electorate in North Kolkata until 2011, when the TMC took power in the state, and has since been elected from the Maniktala seat.

For the past year, the senior TMC leader has been ill. He was re-instated as a cabinet minister after the party won a third consecutive term in power last year, but due to his ailing health, he was not given a portfolio. 

He was suffering from kidney problems and had recently been transferred from Kolkata's state-run SSKM Hospital to Mumbai. According to party insiders, he was in critical condition in the last several days.