Former minister Harihar Swain died at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Saturday, following a prolonged illness. He was 73. Swain was suffering from multiple ailments for several months.
He is survived by his wife, a son and three daughters. Born at Debabhumi village near Aska, Swain was first elected to the Assembly in 1977 from Aska on Janata Party ticket and became minister of state for commerce, transport and jails.
He was again elected to the Assembly from Kabisuryanagar constituency in 1995 on a Congress ticket and became minister for works in the JB Patnaik cabinet.
Swain later joined BJD and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Aska in 2004. He was later suspended from the party and did not contest the 2009 polls due to ill-health. Mourning his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Swain proved his mettle as a member of the Assembly and then as a member of the Lok Sabha. Several political leaders in Ganjam district mourned the death of Swain.