Former Rajya Sabha MP, journalist and senior BJP leader Balbir Punj, 76, passed away on Saturday (April 18, 2026) evening after suffering illness for some time.

Mr. Punj, a former vice president of the BJP and associated with the RSS from a young age, had a long career in public life — in politics and policy circles, and in the media. He began his career as a journalist in 1971 with the newspaper The Motherland, later serving for two decades at the Financial Express, and the as executive editor of The Observer of Business and Politics from May 1996 to March 2000.