BHUBANESWAR: Ashok Das, one of the tallest anti-Congress politicians of Orissa and a close associate of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, passed away following a brief illness early on Tuesday.
He had been admitted to a private hospital here after suffering three consecutive heart attacks and put on life support system since Saturday.
Das, 66, is survived by wife Sandhya, two sons and two daughters.
The former State president of the Janata Dal had returned to the State Assembly from the Korei constituency for six times.
He joined the Jai Prakash movement in 1974 and became the first political prisoner of the country to be booked under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during Emergency.
Das had started his political career with the Swatantra Party in 1971 and then joined Biju Patnaik after he left the Congress.
He was second to Biju Patnaik in the Janata Dal and became its State president in 1991. He was instrumental in bringing Naveen Patnaik into politics after Biju Patnaik’s death in 1997. But when Naveen Patnaik formed the Biju Janata Dal, he chose to stay in the erstwhile JD(S) till late this year when he joined the NCP. His son Pranab, however, joined the BJD recently with his blessings.
He was cremated at his native Jajpur town later in the day.