Bhopal: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Babulal Gaur passed away on Wednesday morning at a private hospital here after prolonged illness.

Gaur (89) passed away due to caridiac 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.