A top leader of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) died yesterday, 11 days after his younger brother allegedly shot him over personal disputes, his party and hospital authorities said.

Pramod Mahajan, a former federal telecommunications minister and high-profile general secretary of the Hindu nationalist party, was shot at his home in the financial capital of Mumbai on April 22.

“He finally succumbed to the bullet injuries,” said Anupam Verma, spokesman of Hinduja Hospital.

Mahajan, 56, was hit by three bullets which damaged his vital organs. Doctors at the Mumbai hospital had performed three surgeries to try to revive him. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Mahajan’s brother, Pravin, surrendered to police shortly after the shooting.

Mahajan, a key backroom manager of the BJP, was close to both its top leaders, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani.

He was known for his oratory and was seen as a possible future head of the party.

“The party is in a shock after his untimely death. He had a big role in holding together the BJP-led coalition,” senior BJP leader V. K. Malhotra told reporters in New Delhi.