Suresh Kalmadi was the experienced Congress leader and former Union minister, passed away at 81 on 6 January 2026 due to prolonged illness. He was taking treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital.
His mortal remains are preserved at Kalmadi House in Pune’s Erandwane till 2 pm. while the last rites will be performed at Vaikunth crematorium at 3:30 pm. He had a wife, son, daughter-in-law, two married daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren in the family.
Pune, Maharashtra | Former Union Minister and Senior Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi passed away after a prolonged illness. He was admitted in Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital in Pune. His mortal remains will be kept at Kalmadi House, Erandwane, Pune till 2 pm and cremation will take…
— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2026
Who is Suresh Kalmadi?
Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Kalmadi was the very famous politician and the prominent sports administrator. Suresh was born on 1 May 1944, in Madras. Suresh had completed schooling from Pune and had done graduation from Fergusson College, and Suresh was a National Defence Academy passed out. Suresh had been a squadron leader in the Indian Air Force.
Suresh Kalmadi: Political Career & Rise in the Congress
Suresh Kalmadi had started his political career in 1977 when he was elected as the president of the Indian Youth Congress from Pune. Later on, he was elected as the president of the Youth Congress for the state of Maharashtra. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1982 and had served several terms before entering the Lok Sabha in 1996, then again in 2004, and later in 2009 from the Pune Lok Sabha constituency.
His association with Sharad Pawar and the Gandhi family in particular added to his political growth. Suresh Kalmadi had been the Union Minister of State for Railways in the PV Narasimha Rao government and had handled the reframing of Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Suresh Kalmadi Contributions to Pune & Sports
Kalmadi had been an important factor in the development of the cultural and infrastructure of the city of Pune. He initiated programs such as the Pune Festival, the Pune International Marathon, the National Games for the country in 1992, and the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008.
In sports administration, Kalmadi was a president at the Maharashtra State Athletics Federation before he became the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), a position he held from 1996 to 2011. He hosted various international sports like Formula One Grand Prix and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India during his tenure.
Suresh Kalmadi Controversy & Commonwealth Games
There were many hindrances in Kalmadi’s career due to allegations of improprieties in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. Suresh Kalmadi was the central figure in a major corruption controversy surrounding the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi, where he served as the chairman of the organizing committee. The scandal involved widespread allegations of financial irregularities, including inflated contracts and misuse of funds, though he was eventually cleared of related money laundering charges in 2025. There was an investigation led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the contract involving the Timing, Scoring, and Results system awarded to a company in Switzerland, which caused losses to the exchequer.
He was arrested in April 2011, spending 10 months in Tihar jail. Later on, Congress suspended him, stripping him of his presidency of IOA. Kalmadi termed all the accusations as politically based, having nothing to do with his integrity.
Suresh Kalmadi Got Clean Chit in CWG Case
In April 2025, a Delhi court accepted the closure report filed in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate, clearing Kalmadi’s name in it. Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue Court said that the prosecution failed to prove any offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), giving Kalmadi a clean chit in the matter after 15 years of litigation.
Despite some controversies, Kalmadi held an influential position in both Pune and Indian sport and will always be remembered for his contributions to sports infrastructure, culture, and development in India.
