Former Odisha Assembly speaker Maheswar Mohanty passes at 67

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and former Odisha Assembly speaker Maheswar Mohanty died at a private hospital here on Tuesday.

Mohanty, who was also a former minister, was 67. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

He was admitted to the hospital on November 1 after suffering a cerebral stroke, and died at 3.25 am on Tuesday, hospital sources said.

Mohanty was elected to the Odisha Assembly from Puri constituency five times. 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.

Born on February 26, 1956, Mohanty had also served in the Naveen Patnaik government as a cabinet minister and had held portfolios such as Panchayati Raj, Revenue, Law and Tourism departments between 2011 and 2019.

He was the speaker of the assembly from 2004 to 2008.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled Mohanty's death and described him as a 'popular leader with high organisational skills'.

He played an important role in the development of Puri as an MLA and minister, Patnaik added.