Former Odisha Assembly speaker Maheswar Mohanty dies at 67

He had successfully contested the assembly elections as a Janata Dal candidate in 1995 and as a BJD nominee in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.He had successfully contested the assembly elections as a Janat

Maheswar Mohanty (Photo | Wikimedia Commons)

BHUBANESWAR: Former Speaker of Odisha assembly and veteran BJD leader Maheswar Mohanty passed away at a private hospital here early in the morning. He was 67.

Mohanty, a former MLA from Puri was admitted to a private hospital here after he suffered a brain stroke on October 31.

During his more than three-decades-long political career, Mohanty was elected to the Odisha assembly from Puri consecutively five times from 1995. His winning streak had stopped after he lost to Jayanti Sarangi of the BJP by a slender margin in 2019. But even after defeat, he continued to play an active role in BJD''s organisational matters in the Puri district.

Politicians pay tributes to deceased former BJD MLA Maheswar Mohanty at the state assembly in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. (Photo | DD Mallick)

He was Speaker of the assembly from May 2004 to March 2008. He also served in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet as law, revenue, panchayat raj and planning and coordination minister with distinction.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep grief over his demise. Describing him as a popular leader with organisational skills, the chief minister said he played an important role in the development of Puri. Several other leaders cutting across party lines including union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chhatisgarh governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and national BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda condoled his death.

He is survived by his wife and two sons.