The demise of Nepali Congress (NC) President and former prime minister Sushil Koirala has plunged his home district Banke into mourning.

People started converging at the Koirala residence in Nepalgunj since early morning on Tuesday. People were grief-stricken after being informed about the death of Koirala.

Koirala’s sister-in-law Kiran said they did not believe the news at first. “How can we tolerate the grief now?” she asked, adding that a man with the “source of strength left us”.

Kiran and her family rushed to Kathmandu on Tuesday to take part in the funeral. NC’s former district chairman Krishna Man Shrestha said they did not know about Koirala’s health condition. “We supposed that he had been suffering from common cold for the past few days. However, the news came as a big shock,” he said.

The Koirala family has been living in Nepalgunj since 1960. The family shifted to Nepalgunj from Parasi as Sushil’s father Bodh Prasad Koirala, who was the then District Forest Officer, had been transferred to the city.

Krishna Singh Pariyar, a veteran NC leader in Nepalgunj, said all party leaders and supporters should take lessons from Koirala. “He was a sacrificial leader,” he said.

Yubaraj Sharma, a friend of Koirala in Nepalgunj, said the party has lost its guardian.

In Biratnagar, Koirala’s brother Ashok and his family were saddened by his demise. NC supporters had also gathered in Ashok’s house to express their condolences.

Sindhuli district also plunged into sadness over Koirala’s death. Koirala had an ancestral house at Kuseshwor in Dumja VDC-2. Local NC leader Ujjwal Prasad Baral said Koirala used to visit his ancestral village regularly. “We have been saddened by his demise,” said Baral.

NC party representatives along with other people in Chitwan, Dang, Kapilvastu and Mugu districts have expressed sorrow over the demise of the NC president, and expressed condolences to the bereaved family in the districts. Umesh Chandra Paudel, a friend of Koirala’s from Chitwan, said they have lost a ‘saint’ leader. “Koirala was never involved in greedy political game,” he said.

(With inputs from our local correspondents)