BHUBANESWAR: Former Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly Maheswar Mohanty passed away here at a private hospital on Tuesday morning.
He was 67.
The ex-lawmaker is survived by his wife Bishnupriya and two sons.
A five-time legislator from Puri, Mohanty was under treatment at the hospital for a week after he suddenly fell ill on October 31.
A lawyer by profession, Mohanty completed his law degree from Utkal University and masters in political science from Banaras Hindu University. He served as the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly from 2004 till 2008.
Born on February 26, 1956, Mohanty entered the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1995 after winning the Puri seat on a Janata Dal ticket. He later joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and went on to get reelected from the seat for four times. He lost the seat to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jayanta Sarangi in 2019.
Mohanty was associated with many non-political organisations as ex-officio member and president. He had also served as the chairman of Puri Municipality.
Though his rivals had made bids on his life on two occasions, he had managed to survive, though he suffered serious injuries.
Condolences poured in from all corridors following his demise. Odisha governor Raghubar Das, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice president Baijayant Panda expressed their condolences to the bereaved family members of the departed leader.
“I’m saddened to learn of the death of senior BJD leader Maheswar Mohanty. He was a popular leader and strong organiser. His contribution to the development of Odisha will always be remembered. His role as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and a minister in the state council of ministers is equally excellent,” CM Patnaik wrote in his X, formerly Twitter, handle.
