Mumbai, Feb. 26 (PTI): Former Union home minister and Maharashtra chief minister S.B. Chavan died here this evening after prolonged illness. He was 83.

The veteran Congress leader was in a critical condition and on a life support system after surgery at a city hospital on February 20 for removal of a blood clot in his brain.

He is survived by son Ashok, who is transport minister in the Democratic Front government in the state, and five daughters.

Chavan’s body will be kept at Sagar, Ashok’s official residence, to enable people to pay homage. Later, the body will be flown in a defence aircraft to Nanded, where the cremation will take place tomorrow, sources said.

Born on July 14, 1920, Chavan started his career as a lawyer. He left the profession and joined the “quit court” movement in Hyderabad when it was under the Nizam.

Chavan had served as chief minister of Maharashtra from 1975 to 1977 and between 1986 and 1988.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nanded in 1980. He was education minister in the Indira Gandhi cabinet in 1980 and held the foreign, finance, defence and home portfolios in subsequent Congress governments.