PATNA: Former three-time Bihar CM Dr Jagganath Mishra passed away at his residence in Delhi on Monday. He was 80.
In Patna, sources from his family said that Mishra had been ailing with multiple diseases for a long time. He passed away at his new apartment situated in Dwarka sector 4, early this morning.
As per sources, Mishra's funeral will be held at Balua Bazar, his native village in Supaul district on Wednesday with full state honours.
Several Congress leaders visited Mishra's family this morning. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expressed shock and expressed condolences to the family. Bihar will observe three days of mourning on account of Jagganath Mishra's demise.
Dr Mishra was an accomplished economist and has written several books on Bihar's economy. He started his career as a professor in Bihar University in Muzaffarpur where he taught economics. However, influenced by his elder brother Lalit Narayan Mishra, who was the railway minister, he entered politics and joined the Congress.
He became the CM in 1975 but his government was brought down with the emergency. He again became CM in 1980 for the second time and for a third time in 1989. His stint as CM came to an end with the success of Janata Dal party and Lalu Prasad Yadav becoming CM. Mishra has also served as Union Cabinet Minister several times.
An erudite scholar, author and an able administrator, Dr Mishra is credited with running of a tight ship during his tenure in Bihar. However, on September 30, 2013, a special CBI team investigating the fodder scams found him guilty along with other 44 people, including Lalu Prasad Yadav, and he was jailed for four years and fined Rs 2 lakh.
Later, he was absolved some of the charges and was released on bonds.
Besides politics, Mishra was a patron of many social organisations including the LN Mishra Institute of economic studies and social changes. He had also been promoting human rights in the state.