KOLKATA: As the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to unveil its new West Bengal state committee this month, the party’s central leadership has asked the state leaders to ensure most members focus on strengthening the organisation rather than contesting elections.

BHUBANESWAR: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sujeet Kumar, on Tuesday, claimed that the party is likely to field Jay Dholakia, son of former Odisha Minister and late Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Rajendra Dholakia, as its candidate for the upcoming bye-election in the Nuapada Assembly constituency.

NEW DELHI: Reacting to the gang-rape case in Durgapur, whose victim’s father claimed that there is "Aurangzeb’s rule in West Bengal," BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of trying to hide atrocities on ‘Maa Durga’ through victim shaming and victim blaming.

KOLKATA: As the Mamata Banerjee government has taken a decision to create a special relief fund seeking public donations for flood and landslide-affected North Bengal, the BJP on Tuesday questioned the motive.

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday alleged disagreement between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav over Assembly ticket distribution, accusing the latter of “humiliating” his father.

KOLKATA: The BJP has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of lying about the timing when a second-year medical student left the private medical college premises in Durgapur, West Burdwan district, and later became a victim of gang-rape.

PATNA: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on Sunday, finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set to contest an equal number of 101 seats each. 

CHANDIGARH: Padma Shri Pargat Singh, Secretary of the All India Congress Committee and MLA, has strongly condemned the increasing atrocities against the Dalit community nationwide, calling it a deliberate and dangerous conspiracy. He explicitly held the BJP-led central government to account for these developments. Singh cited recent incidents—including the brutal murder of a Dalit man in Rae Bareli, the attack on a Dalit Supreme Court judge, and the suicide of a Dalit IPS officer in Haryana—as proof of a grave and growing crisis. He demanded strict enforcement of the SC/ST Act, independent inquiries, and sweeping reforms to eradicate caste discrimination.

CHANDIGARH: Strongly condemning the attempt to hurl shoe at Chief Justice of India, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday said that it is the result of anti- Schedule caste (SC) tirade of BJP. 

CHANDIGARH: Farmers of Punjab to get free wheat seeds worth ₹44.40 crore from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government. This timely initiative will serve as a lifeline for those preparing for the upcoming rabi season after facing severe crop losses due to floods, said Anil Sarin, State General Secretary, BJP Punjab. 

KOLKATA: A petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the attack on BJP Lok Sabha member Khagen Murmu and the party’s Chief Whip in the West Bengal Assembly, Shankar Ghosh.

BENGALURU: Karnataka BJP leader and former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao on Wednesday tendered an apology for praising advocate Rakesh Kishore for his act of trying to throw a shoe at Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai in the Supreme Court.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala BJP on Wednesday organised a protest in front of the Chief Minister’s official residence, demanding accountability over alleged mismanagement and looting at the famed Sabarimala temple.

KOLKATA: The attack on BJP Lok Sabha member from West Bengal, Khagen Murmu, who comes from a tribal background, exemplifies how the tribal population is "simply dispensable" in politics of selective outrage pursued not only by the Trinamool Congress but also by Congress and Left parties, the BJP stated on Wednesday.

KOLKATA: No arrests have been made so far in connection with the attack on BJP MP Khagen Murmu in Nagrakata of West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district.

CHANDIGARH: Senior Congress leader Pargat Singh, MLA and Secretary of the AICC, today strongly condemned the Centre’s decision to withhold ₹450 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM) for Punjab. He said that the ongoing political branding war between the BJP-led Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is directly punishing ordinary citizens — a situation both irresponsible and unacceptable. 

CHANDIGARH: The devastating floods of 2025 have laid bare a monumental collapse of governance, preparedness, and accountability under the Bhagwant Mann–led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, said the Punjab BJP’s Chargesheet detailing the reasons for flood mismanagement in Punjab, which Ashwani Sharma, Working President, Bharatiya Janta Party Punjab, at Party headquarters in Chandigarh, released. 

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, reached the private hospital at Siliguri and met the injured BJP Lok Sabha Member, Khagen Murmu, admitted there.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice on a plea seeking directions for the removal of a video posted by the official X handle of BJP Assam, which allegedly spreads communal disharmony and vilifies the Muslim community.

NEW DELHI: A political storm has erupted after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of politicising a natural disaster, drawing sharp and personal rebukes from multiple BJP leaders who questioned her response and commitment to the flood-hit regions.

KOLKATA: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has sought an urgent report from the West Bengal government on the brutal attack on BJP's Lok Sabha member Khagen Murmu.

BHUBANESWAR: Senior lawyer and BJP leader Pitabas Panda was shot dead by unknown bike-borne assailants near his residence in Berhampur city of Odisha's Ganjam district.

KOLKATA: The death toll following heavy rainfall and landslides in the hills, Terai, and Dooars regions in North Bengal till Tuesday morning has risen to 36, as per the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and district administrations in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri.

KOLKATA: BJP Maldaha Uttar MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh were brutally attacked by miscreants on Monday while on their way to meet the North Bengal landslides-affected people and distribute relief materials.

PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday slammed both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress in Goa, alleging they are "hand in glove" in looting the state's resources.

PUNE: Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday accused the BJP of weaponising social issues for political and electoral gains while completely ignoring the real governance failures.

NEW DELHI: BJP national spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP Sambit Patra on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the previous UPA-led government, accusing it of lacking the "political will" to retaliate after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks despite the armed forces being "fully capable and ready".

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, accusing her of making controversial remarks merely to remain relevant in the political discourse, as the public had "sidelined" her.

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, accusing him of merely echoing the BJP government’s narrative instead of holding the Centre accountable for the erosion of the Constitution, Parliament, and the judiciary, as well as the growing public unrest across the country.

KARNATAKA: Commenting on the letter by Karnataka State Contractors' Association to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleging 80 per cent commission and nepotism in state contracts by ministers and leaders, the BJP's former national general secretary and Member of the Legislative Council, C.T. Ravi, stated on Friday, "Weren't you ashamed after reading the contractors' letter."

KARNATAKA: Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Friday asserted that the power-sharing arrangement between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is "hundred percent true" and claimed that bickering has already commenced within the ruling Congress party in the state.

TAMIL NADU: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, branding it a "parasite" that thrives by exploiting tragedies for electoral gain and labelling it a "washing machine" for corrupt individuals.

NEW DELHI: After Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Colombia, claimed that the biggest threat to India was an "attack on democracy", senior leaders from the BJP and Janata Dal(United) on Friday accused him of defaming the country on foreign soil. They said that it was not India’s democracy in danger, but it is about Rahul Gandhi’s political existence.

NEW DELHI: The release of the final voter list for Bihar following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has triggered a political storm, with the BJP and Congress offering sharply contrasting narratives. While the BJP claims the process was aimed at cleaning up the rolls by removing fake voters, the Congress alleges mass voter exclusion, particularly of the poor and marginalised communities.

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed profound grief over the passing of senior leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra, former State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi.

PUDUCHERRY: Buoyed up by the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP here has commenced preparations for the local polls.

GUWAHATI: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance on Sunday secured a clean sweep in the 60-seat Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections.

BENGALURU: In a huge setback to the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress in Karnataka, the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) probe hasunearthered the involvement of leaders of both the parties in the Police Sub-Inspector(PSI) exam scam.

MUMBAI: An irate mob attacked the vehicle of BJP activist Mohit Kamboj-Bharatiya near the the Bandra East private home of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

HYDERABAD: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday criticised appointment of a BJP member as public relations officer for Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, calling it a case of impropriety.

MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday distanced itself from the campaign launched by independent MP and ex-filmstar Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi to 'teach' Hindutva lessons to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi BJP on Friday appointed the Assembly in-charge for upcoming bypolls in Rajinder Nagar constituency.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi BJP on Thursday alleged that AAP leaders are instigating people to attack party Headquarters and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence.

NEW DELHI: BJP's five-member fact-finding committee constituted by party chief J.P. Nadda to ascertain details of rape and murder of a minor girl in West Bengal's Hanskhali has recommended imposition of Article 355 and 356 in the state citing deteriorating law and order situation.

NEW DELHI:A 42-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was shot dead in the national capital, an official said on Thursday.

PANAJI: Goa BJP's medical cell convenor, Shekhar Salkar, on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strip Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan off their Padma awards for featuring in surrogate advertisements promoting tobacco products.

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana on Wednesday sought Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan's intervention to check what it calls excesses by the leaders of the ruling party.

NEW DELHI: As attacks on party workers continue, the BJP on Tuesday said that West Bengal was suffering consequences of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "vile politics".

NEW DELHI: After the wholesale inflation rose up to 14.55 per cent, the Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre and said that the "deflated governance" was pushing the country to financial emergency.

CHANDIGARH: A day after the BJP slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over a meeting between its Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and visiting British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who was critical of the Centre over issues associated with the farmers' stir, the AAP on Monday questioned the saffron party over the British MP's meetings with its own leaders in the past.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party in copying the Kejriwal Model of governance in Himachal Pradesh.

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has attacked the Karnataka government over the alleged suicide by a contractor who had said that he was asked for a bribe.

PUDUCHERRY: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Puducherry on April 24 to attend several programmes.Sources in the BJP told IANS that the visit is primarily intended to iron out the differences between Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and the BJP legislators.

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in the initial rounds of counting of votes for 27 seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

LUCKNOW: Even as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath focuses on a 100-day work plan for every Ministry, BJP Ministers and legislators apparently have other plans to enhance their popularity.

NEW DELHI: After Aam Aadmi Party Himachal Pradesh President Anup Kesari joined the BJP last week, the head of the AAP's women wing in the state, Mamata Thakur, along with other leaders, joined the BJP on Monday.

NEW DELHI: BJP on Monday held the recent remarks of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray responsible for recent violence in several states during Ram Navami processions.

BENGALURU: The rift between the ruling BJP government and the state police department has come out in open with the handing over of Dalit youth Chandru muder case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

CHANDIGARH: Mahila Kisan Union President Bibi Rajwinder Kaur Raju slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for undermining the importance of regional languages and said the saffron party is trying to enforce "Hindi imperialism" in multilingual, diverse and multi-ethnic country by implementing its strategic "cultural, religious and linguistic terrorism" agenda against regional languages in order to establish the dominance of Sanskrit and Hindi language, which would be extremely dangerous for the national unity and federalism of union of states.

MUMBAI: In a direct charge, Maharashtra's ruling Shiv Sena on Saturday accused opposition Bharatiya Janata Party of masterminding the conspiracy of the attack on Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar's home on Friday evening, while a Minister said it was a sinister plan to cause physical harm to the senior leader and his family, and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari condemned the incident.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have registered an FIR against a Delhi BJP leader for allegedly sharing on his Twitter handle a "doctored video clip" of Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have registered an FIR against a Delhi BJP leader for allegedly sharing on his Twitter handle a "doctored video clip" of Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

PATNA: After a 60-feet long iron bridge was stolen from Bihar's Rohtas district, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday alleged that the thieves were inspired by Nitish Kumar and BJP leaders as the latter had "stolen" government in the state in 2020.

AMRITSAR: After Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh at Akal Takht today closed door meeting held with Dr. Jagmohan Singh Raju IAS, a senior BJP leader close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and trusted.

PATNA: Over 50 leaders of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) on Friday joined the BJP's Bihar unit.

AMRITSAR: Aam Aadmi Party’s family continues to grow in Punjab even after elections and it got a major boost on Tuesday when councillors of BJP and Congress left their respective parties to join AAP. Jarnail Singh, MLA Delhi and Punjab affairs in-charge and Harchand Singh Barsat, party’s state general secretary welcomed the new members to the Aam Aadmi Party.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met the BJP's Members of Parliament (MPs) from Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Odisha at his official residence here over breakfast.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police have registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party activist Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil K. Somaiya in connection with the alleged siphoning of around Rs 57 crore collected through 'crowd-funding' to save the decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant, here on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: BJP chief J.P. Nadda on Wednesday said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has now become a party of the poor, Dalits and backwards who did not have a voice so far.

BHOPAL: With just little over one-and-half-year time left for the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have taken a plunge into election mode and are gearing up with their respective strategies to woo the voters.

NEW DELHI: AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to replace the Delhi government's public prosecutors with its own lawyers in cases pertaining to the farmers' protests.

PANAJI: With a little more than six months to go for the assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa appears to be facing a problem of plenty.

NEW DELHI: Ahead of next year's assembly polls, the BJP tried to woo young voters and strengthen its base in Kumaon region by electing Pushkar Singh Dhami as new chief minister of Uttarakhand.

NEW DELHI:A day after Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat resigned, the Congress on Saturday hit out at the BJP over the political instability in the state, accusing it of power hungry.

NEW DELHI: As Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat is all set to resign, names of Dhan Singh Rawat, Satpal Maharaj and some others started doing rounds as his possible successors.

KOLKATA: Amid protests by BJP MLAs, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday had to cut short his much-speculated maiden address in the Assembly after the state elections on the opening day of Budget Session, completing it in just four minutes.

KOLKATA: The West Bengal state transport department's decision to hire a 10-seater air-conditioned plane on a "wet lease" of three to five years, has sparked huge political controversy. The BJP is labelling the state government's decision "politically motivated" and procured for a "self-proclaimed Prime Minister" (Mamata Banerjee).

BALLIA(UP):BJP MLA from Ballia, Surendra Singh, known for making controversial remarks, has termed AIMIM chief, Asaduddin Owaisi, a 'political terrorist' and accused him of trying to instigate and break the society.

NEW DELHI: A day after Uttarakhand BJP's 'Chintan Shivir' ended, chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has been called by the party's national leadership to Delhi.

LUCKNOW:The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh has managed to win zila panchayat chairpersons seats in 21 districts even though it did not have the required numbers.

AGARTALA: In a political development, an MLA of the ruling Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), a junior ally of the BJP, resigned on Tuesday night from the Assembly citing "personal ground".

AMARAVATI:Andhra Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Somu Veerraju on Tuesday alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was pushing the state into indebtedness and bankruptcy by going after welfare.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the principal opposition parties -- the Congress led UDF and the BJP led NDA, on Tuesday, slammed the CPI-M for shielding alleged gold smugglers and rapists, the party however ruled out any dealings with the smugglers or of shielding any corrupt party members.

NEW DELHI: A group of people created ruckus in Rohtas Nagar and vandalised a government vehicle, claimed Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was on an inspection visit to the area where a new school building is being constructed.

CHANDIGARH: In a jolt to the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got a major boost when senior BJP leader from Rajpura (Patiala) Praveen Chhabra joined the party along with dozens of associates on Monday.

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party has won 17 seats unopposed in the elections of the Zila Panchayat chairpersons. The Samajwadi Party, in a reaction, has sacked presidents of 11 districts, mostly the ones where the BJP candidate has been elected unopposed.

NAGPUR/MUMBAI:For the second time in two months, former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has come under the scanner, this time of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which raided three locations, including his residences in Nagpur and Mumbai, and two others belonging to his two associates in connection with an alleged corruption case filed against him, officials said here on Friday.

LUCKNOW: For the second time in three months, the Bhartiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh has been forced to change candidates for the panchayat elections, because they were related to former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who has been convicted of rape.

PANAJI:There is a difference between the mass arrests made during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi and the cases of sedition which are being filed in the country now, Goa BJP general secretary Narendra Sawaikar said on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Appointment of former bureaucrat A.K. Sharma as Vice President of the Uttar Pradesh BJP has come as a surprise to many in the party and government. Till last week, there was a strong buzz across Lucknow and New Delhi that Sharma could be inducted into the Yogi Adityanath government.

NEW DELHI: To send a strong message ahead of next year's Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is now focusing on winning the maximum number seats in the district panchayat president (Zila Panchayat Adhyaksh) polls to held in the first half of July.

 NEW DELHI: With less than one year left for the Delhi municipal elections scheduled in 2022, the national capital's three municipal agencies on Wednesday found new Mayors along with new faces in some other prominent posts for the next one year.

NEW DELHI: BJP Chief J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday discussed next year's Punjab Assembly polls with party state unit chief Ashwani Sharma.

NAWANSHAHR: After the BJP leaders in Punjab, it is now the turn of political leaders of other parties to face the wrath of farmers in villages in the state. Lok Sabha MP from Sri Anandpur Sahib Manish Tiwari had to face this wrath in the form of a massive protest of farmers led by Doaba Kisan Union, Punjab president Kuldip Singh Wajidpur at Bharta Kalan and Wajidpur villages, near Rahon, where he was to launch some development projects today.

JAIPUR: There is a full blown factional war raging in the Rajasthan Congress and the BJP these days with the veterans in both the parties showing reluctance in handing over power and positions to their juniors.

Thiruvananthapuram: Two days after the Kavaratti Police sent a notice to Lakshadweep filmmaker Ayesha Sultana to appear before it on June 20 in connection with her remarks about the spread of Covid in the island, a bunch of BJP leaders quit the party in protest against levelling of sedition charges against Sultana.

HYDERABAD: With former minister Eatala Rajender resigning from the Telangana Legislative Assembly, the state is set to witness another by-election in which the ruling TRS and the opposition BJP will once again face each other.

NEW DELHI: The Central leadership of the BJP has advised all the party-ruled state governments to conduct proper ideological background check of any individual before giving him/her any position in the government.

ALIGARH: The Aligarh unit of the BJP has expelled Rishi Sharma, the alleged kingpin of the hooch tragedy, from the party. District president of BJP, Rishipal Pal Singh, has cancelled Rishi Sharma's primary membership, a party press release said.

NEW DELHI: In a surprise move ahead of next year's civic polls in the national capital, the BJP on Tuesday replaced all the three mayors in the three party ruled municipal corporations.

SHIMLA: Senior BJP Himachal Pradesh MLA and two-time former minister, Narinder Bragta died on Saturday due to post-Covid complications at the PGI Hospital in Chandigarh, his family said.

NEW DELHI: Days after a doctor in Karnataka was brutally thrashed by a mob, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the doctors not only need protection from the Covid-19 but also the BJP government's callousness.

CHANDIGARH: Sukhpal Singh Khaira AAP MLA from Bholath today said that Congress party was only viable platform to fight the fanatic and fascist BJP at the national level and similarly only option to prevent the corrupt and anti Punjab Badal family from hijacking the state again in 2021.

NEW DELHI: Days after the Delhi High Court asked the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) to disclose its list of assets and bank balance to examine the issue of non-payment of salaries to its employees and pensions to the retired staff, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been ruling the MCD for the last 15 years.

KASGANJ: (Uttar Pradesh): Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj, Devendra Pratap Singh, died following a massive heart attack here on Monday morning. He was 59.