Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Narayan Rane were among those who visited the Patrawala household to offer their condolences.

Born on April 1, 1949, Patrawala, a three-time MLA, was a barrister by profession. He was educated at Sussex, Hague and London universities. He made his political debut in 1973, when he joined the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students' wing of the Congress and later became president of the state Youth Congress.

Elected from the Colaba Assembly segment on two previousoccasions, in 1985 and 1990, Partwala also served as minister of state for general administration. He was denied a ticket in the 1995 Assembly elections following which he defected to the Samajwadi Party and unsuccessfully contested the 1996 Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai South. He rejoined the Congress in 1997 and was counsel for the seven Independent legislators in the previous legislative Assembly who had allegedly joined the Congress attracting provisions of the Anti-Defection Law. Sena MLA Chandrakant Padwal had petitioned the then Speaker Datta Nalawade to disqualify them from the membership of the House.

Patrawala also played a crucial role in helping the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party with legal opinion to form the government after the recently concluded elections. He was one among those who had drafted the letter addressed to the governor in which the Congress staked its claim to form the next government.

The Maharashtra legislative Assembly today condoled his death. MRCC PresidentMurli Deora expressed shock at Patrawala's death, stating that ``it was unfortunate that the end had come at such a happy moment in his life'', referring to Patrawala's election to the Vidhan Sabha. MPCC Treasurer Vijay Kalantri said Patrawala contribution to society cannot be forgotten.