RIP Ajit Jogi: The IAS officer who went on to become Chhattisgarh's first chief minister

The 78-year-old former Congress leader passed away on Friday at a private hospital in Raipur after suffering two cardiac arrests.

Born in a tribal family on 29 April 1946, Jogi graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Maulana Azad College of Technology, Bhopal. He first cleared the IPS in 1968 and two years later the IAS exams. (Photo| EPS) 

He enjoyed his stint as district collector of Indore in Madhya Pradesh from 1981 to 1985. It was around this time that the then-PM Rajiv Gandhi convinced him to join the Congress. (File photo| EPS)

In 1986, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha where he completed two terms till 1998. That year saw him contesting the parliamentary elections and winning from the Raigarh seat. He lost the seat next year. (File photo| EPS)

Brought up by veterans Digvijaya Singh and Arjun Singh, though Jogi was in the good books of the Gandhi family, he was never on good terms with Rahul Gandhi. (File photo| PTI)

When Chhattisgarh was formed in 2000, the Congress which won 48 out 90 seats, was keen on nominating a tribal as Chief Minister and hence Jogi was selected. However, he faced opposition not only from the BJP but also from within the Congress. (File photo| PTI)

During the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he campaigned as a Congress candidate when he was injured in a car accident and left partially paralysed. However, he won his seat and later became the biggest party leader in the state. (File photo| PTI)

In 2015, an audio clip became viral which was purportedly a conversation between Jogi, his son Amit and former CM Raman Singh's son-in-law Punit Gupta. Going by the recordings, it was alleged that Jogi had agreed to withdraw the candidature of a fellow Congressman in return for money. After the leak, the state Congress Committee expelled Amit and many members isolated Ajit. (File photo| EPS)

In 2016, he left Congress and formed the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh Jogi (JCCJ). Though experts felt that the party may be able to do big, it never developed. (File photo| EPS)

Earlier this month, Jogi was admitted to Shree Narayana Hospital in Raipur after a cardiac arrest and had been in critical condition once. It was after his condition detoriated this afternoon and another cardiac arrest that he passed away. (File photo| PTI)