Jorhat, July 26: A politician and a gentleman passed away this afternoon at Jorhat in Upper Assam leaving the ruling Congress in Assam heart-broken.

Former Union minister and six-time Lok Sabha MP from Jorhat, Bijoy Krishna Handique, breathed his last at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital where he was admitted last evening after suffering "cardiac distress". He was scheduled to be flown to New Delhi today but at passed away around 12.20pm.

He was 81 and left behind his wife and three daughters.

The cremation will take place tomorrow with full state honours. A half-holiday has been announced in the district after 2pm tomorrow.

It was during the 1998 Lok Sabha elections that a rival candidate had accused Handique of using money power to lure voters.

An upset Handique met the rival candidate and requested him not to resort to such "unethical" practices to defame his image "as I have not and never do such evil acts to win elections".

By then Handique had already been elected twice from the prestigious Jorhat constituency and went on to win four more times to make it six in a row before losing to BJP's Kamakhya Prashad Tasa in the last election.

"He was a gentleman in the true sense in Assam politics. I have never seen him lose his temper or shout at anybody. He was calm and polite," said Sarat Barkataky, state education minister, at Handique's residence today. Barkataky hails from neighbouring Sonari in Sivasagar district.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who is a close friend of Handique, cancelled all his official programmes and visited the hospital as well as the latter's residence.

"I have lost a very close friend," Gogoi said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Handique's long journey in public life, both in his home state as well as at the Centre, was remarkable. "He was a valued member of the previous UPA governments and the void created by his death will be hard to fill," she tweeted.

Both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi called up Assam PCC president Anjan Dutta to express their condolences. One of the general secretaries of the AICC will attend the funeral. Assam governor P.B. Acharya said the state has lost a seasoned politician.

Anjan Dutta said Handique was a doyen in Congress politics in Assam.

Tapan Dutta, a neighbour and #friend, said "Bijoy da was always very sober and used to wear dhoti and kurta during school and college days."

Heman Baruah came all the way from Mejenga, an interior area in Sivasagar district, after hearing the news.

Baruah said many more from his village and adjoining area would come to pay respect to Handique tomorrow.

PWD minister Ajanta Neog has arrived this afternoon at Handique's residence and a host of other ministers and Congress leaders are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Born to Krishna Kanta Handique, prominent litterateur of the state, Handique did his masters in English literature from Presidency College in Calcutta.

He set up the Hemalata Handique Memorial Institute in Jorhat, the first English medium boarding school in Upper Assam, with the aim of promoting English language so that students from the region would find it easy to have a strong grasp over the language, which he felt was important. He was a teacher at the school.

Handique's tryst with politics started with his election to the Assembly in 1972 on a Congress ticket. There was no looking back for him since then. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1980.

Handique was first elected to the Lok Sabha from the Jorhat constituency in 1991.

He was minister of state for defence in 2004 during the first Manmohan Singh cabinet and subsequently the minister of state for mines. He was the DoNER minister in 2009.

Friends, well-wishers and Congress workers thronged Handique's Jail Road residence this afternoon to pay homage. The chief minister stayed more than an hour at his residence and advised officials to take necessary steps for smooth conduct of the funeral tomorrow. "His younger daughter will arrive from Kenya tomorrow. The funeral has been scheduled accordingly," a district administration official said.

Apart from politics, Handique was also a tea planter having owned two gardens and had vast knowledge on tea. "He was always a guiding force for the industry and advised us in times of need," secretary of Assam Tea Planters' Association, D. Bora, told The Telegraph. Handique was a member of the association.