Hyderabad: A former Indian minister who was once described as the second most powerful man in the cabinet, after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has died.

Congress party veteran P. Shiv Shankar succumbed on Monday after a prolonged illness, officials said.

The 88-year-old judge turned politician breathed his last at home in Hyderabad.

During his four-decade political career, Shiv Shankar served in the cabinets of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and also served as the governor of two states — Sikkim and Kerala.

However just before the polls in 2004 Shiv Shankar, who belonged to a backward caste, revolted against the Congress party and its leader Sonia Gandhi.

He resigned from the party alleging that it was selling election tickets to the highest bidders in Andhra Pradesh.

Shiv Shankar, who studied law at Osmania University, was a symbol of the composite Deccani Culture and spoke fluent Urdu, apart from Telugu and English.

After serving as AP High Court Judge in the mid-1970s he joined the Congress party and entered the Lok Sabha from Secunderabad constituency in 1979.

After serving as law minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, Shiv Shankar held many key portfolios in the cabinet of Rajiv Gandhi including external affairs, commerce, petroleum and human resources. He also headed the Planning Commission.

Ever smiling and affable, Shiv Shankar was elected thrice to the Lok Sabha and twice to Rajya Sabha — where he also served as leader of the Opposition when Congress was out of power.

During P.V. Narasimha Rao’s tenure, he briefly served as governor of Sikkim and Kerala.

After quitting Congress party in a huff in 2004, he joined the Praja Rajyam party of film star Chiranjeevi in 2009. But as the party fizzled out and later merged with the Congress, Shiv Shankar also gradually faded out from the political scene.

His son and Congress legislator P. Sudhir Kumar died of illness in May 2002.

Shiv Shankar is survived by a son and a daughter.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was among the prominent political leaders who expressed grief over his death.

KCR visited his residence in Jubilee Hills and laid a wreath on his body. He announced an official funeral for the veteran political figure of Telangana.