Bhubaneswar: Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former Speaker Maheshwar Mohanty passed away at 3:25 a.m. on Tuesday while undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.
He was 67.
The former Speaker had been ailing for some time and was admitted to a private hospital in the capital on November 1, 2023
Initially, Mohanty was admitted to the neurology department but was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital as his condition deteriorated.
Mohanty’s son told the media early Tuesday morning that his father had passed away.
Born on February 26, 1956, Mohanty was the BJD MLA from Puri Assembly constituency from 2000 to 2014. He was first elected to the Odisha Assembly in 1995 on a Janata Dal ticket.
Maheswar Mohanty served as the Speaker of Odisha Assembly from 2004 to 2008. In addition, he held several portfolios in the Naveen Patnaik government. A lawyer by profession, Mohanty completed his LLB from Utkal University and MA in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Mohanty’s last rites will be performed in the Swarga Dwar crematorium in Puri today evening.