GUWAHATI: Undefeated in the last six Assembly elections, Tripura CPI-M's Khagendra Jamatia died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Friday morning.
Jamatia (64), a CPI-M tribal front leader, was hospitalised after he fell ill during the last leg of the Tripura Assembly elections campaign.
The insurgent leader-turned-politician Jamatia joined the CPI-M in 1983 and contested the elections from the Krishnapur seat in Khowai district where he won for a successive six times since 1988.
A state funeral is likely to be accorded to him once the mortal remains are brought to the state. The CPI-M has declared a three-day mourning.
Meanwhile, a by-election for the Krishnapur seat will be necessary if Jamatia wins the polls.
Earlier ahead of the elections, the CPI-M had suffered a setback when its veteran tribal leader Ramendra Narayan Debbarma died of a cardiac arrest. He was the party’s candidate for the Charilam seat. Following his death, election to the seat was countermanded.
Debbarma, who was a retired government officer, had successfully contested the 2013 election.