Lucknow: BJP's candidate for the Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, Kunwar Sarvesh Singh, passed away on Saturday following a prolonged illness. Singh breathed his last at AIIMS in Delhi around 6.30 pm.

Despite voting for the Moradabad seat taking place in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, the late BJP nominee couldn't participate in his election campaigns due to his health conditions. UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary informed the media, "Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar has passed away. He had some problem in his throat and had an operation. Yesterday, he had gone to AIIMS for a check-up."

Expressing his condolences, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to social media, praying for strength for Singh's supporters and bereaved family.

"I am shocked by the demise of BJP candidate from Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency and former MP Kunwar Sarvesh Singh ji. This is an irreparable loss for the BJP family. My condolences are with the bereaved family. I pray to Lord Ram to give a place to the departed soul in his feet and provide strength to the bereaved family and their supporters to bear this loss," Adityanath wrote on Twitter.

"I pray to Shri Ram Chandra Ji to give a place to the departed soul in his feet and give strength to his supporters and bereaved family to bear this unbearable loss. My condolences are with the bereaved family," he added.

Kunwar Sarvesh Singh, a businessman, was a prominent leader of the party in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to the Thakur caste and had been elected MLA four times from the Thakurdwara Assembly seat before becoming an MP. Sarvesh Kumar's son, Kunwar Sushant Singh, is an MLA from the Badhapur assembly seat, which falls under the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Sarvesh Kumar was also in the news during the loudspeaker controversy in the Kanth assembly constituency in 2014.

A little over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded in eight western Uttar Pradesh seats that went to polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, with Moradabad recording a turnout of 60.60 per cent.

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