Veteran SP Leader, Eight-Time MLA Vijay Singh Gond Passes Away at 68

Lucknow, January 8 (TNA) Prominent Samajwadi Party MLA Vijay Singh Gond from Dudhi constituency in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, breathed his last on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at SGPGIMS in Lucknow after a prolonged battle with kidney failure.

The 68-year-old veteran tribal leader, who had been undergoing treatment for his failing kidneys for an extended period, succumbed during the early hours of Thursday.

Known as the ‘patriarch of tribal politics’ in UP’s remotest 403rd assembly seat Duddhi, Gond won eight terms as MLA since 1979, starting with Congress, later aligning with Janata Dal and finally SP, where he triumphed in the 2024 bypoll by 3,160 votes over BJP’s Shrawan Gond.

His relentless advocacy secured ST status for Dudhi and Obra seats through Supreme Court battles and championed forest dwellers’ rights via Vanvasi Seva Ashram.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum, with SP leaders hailing his unwavering voice for Adivasi welfare, while his death cast a pall of grief over Sonbhadra and tribal communities. Survived by wife Damyanti and two children, Gond’s funeral arrangements are awaited as condolences flood in, marking the end of an era in UP’s indigenous politics.