Uttar Pradesh minister Rajendra Singh Rana dead

Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and Minister of State for Rural Engineering Rajendra Singh Rana passed away in Saharanpur on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

The minister who held independent charge of the department joined the Samajwadi Party before the 2012 state assembly elections and went on to become a legislator from Deoband in western Uttar Pradesh.

Family members said he was suffering from cancer for almost a year and that his condition deteriorated a month back.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan are scheduled to travel to Saharanpur to attend Rana's funeral, district officials told IANS.

In a condolence message, Yadav called Rana a "fine and hard working colleague".