Congress leader and party spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi died on Wednesday due to cardiac arrest.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden demise of Shri Rajiv Tyagi,” the party said in a tweet. “A staunch Congressman and a true patriot. Our thoughts and prayers are with his families & friends in this time of grief.”

Reports said Tyagi suffered an attack soon after a television debate and fell unconscious at his residence in Vaishali. His last tweet was about his participation in a TV debate at 5 pm.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Tyagi was an “ideologically driven person” and expressed her condolences to his family. “The demise of INC spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi is a personal loss to me,” she tweeted. “It is an irreparable loss for us.”

“He had been in touch just recently and was doing a terrific job speaking for inclusive and progressive politics,” Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted. “A real loss for Congress.”

Other Congress leaders also expressed grief at Tyagi’s demise.