Sangli, Maharashtra, Jan 31 (Reporter) Shiv Sena (Shinde) group leader and MLA of Khanapur Atpadi constituency, Anil Babar, died at a private hospital here on Wednesday, official sources said. Babar was 74. Condoling his death, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has instructed officials to arrange for a state funeral. Babar was elected from the Khanapur assembly constituency of this district four times: in 1990, 1999, 2014, and 2019. In 2019, he defeated Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-supported candidate Sadashiv Patil. Babar was one of the legislators who backed Shinde, when he revolted against Shiv Sena chief and then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to engineer a vertical split the party and took over as CM in coalition with the BJP by dislodging the MVA government. In a message, Shinde said, "With the death of MLA Anil Babar, we have truly lost a very effective public representative,,,, Babar's work for Shiv Sena is never to be forgotten. He worked tirelessly for irrigation to bring water to the drought-affected areas of Sangli district. "He was constantly fighting for the implementation of the Krishna Valley Water and Tembu Yojana. Be it trying to house the homeless, organising blood donation camps, or spreading education to the grassroots level through educational institutions, Anil Babar served as an exemplary public representative, said the CM...////...