Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Babulal Gaur (89) passed away in Bhopal after a prolonged illness.

Gaur (89) passed away due to cardiac arrest, Narmada Hospital Director, Dr Rajesh Sharma, told PTI.

He was suffering from various old-age related ailments and was hospitalised for quite some time.

The veteran BJP leader served as Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 2004-2005 and represented his traditional Govindpura Vidhan Sabha seat 10 times.

Born on June 2, 1930 at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Gaur emerged as a powerful and popular leader in Madhya Pradesh initially as a trade union leader and later as MLA