Senior NCP Leader DP Tripathi Passes Away After Prolonged Illness at 67

New Delhi: Condolence messages poured in for NCP leader DP Tripathi who passed away on Thursday in Delhi as leaders across party lines remembered him as a guide, mentor and friend.

Tripathi died after a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 67. Tripathi, the general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party and a former students' union leader, was battling cancer.

NCP leader Supriya Sule said Tripathi had always been a guide and counsel to party leaders. "Deeply Saddened to hear about the demise of Shri.D.P Tripathi Ji. He was the General Secretary of NCP and a guide and mentor to all of us. We will miss his wise counsel and guidance which he had given us from the day NCP was established.

"May he rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers with his family members. Heartfelt Condolences," she tweeted.

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recalled how he would discuss the world affairs with the senior NCP leader.

"Deeply grieved to learn of the passing away of DP Tripathi. Since 1973, when we joined JNU, have discussed and debated the world with him. Always open-minded and pragmatic. Will miss him very much," he tweeted.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury recalled Tripathi as a "fellow traveller" and said he will be missed.

"Comrade, Fellow-student, Fellow-traveller and much more. From University and right until his last days we spoke, argued, disagreed, and learnt so much together. You will be missed, my friend. Deepest condolences," he said in a tweet.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary recalled 'DPT', as Tripathi is fondly known, as an orator and a fighter.

"DPT emerged out of student politics and made a mark with his sharp oratory and intellect. Known as a fighter who made his way through illness and adversity, Tripathi-ji was always good counsel and a man who kept promises and maintained relationships," he said.

Congress leader Manish Tiwari remembered Tripathi as a "friend, philosopher and guide". "My friend philosopher and guide the irrepressible, irreverent, incisive and intellectual DP Tripathi is no more. RIP Professor you have left us when this nation perhaps needed you most," he tweeted.