2 min readBhubaneshwarNov 7, 2023 09:37 AM IST
First published on: Nov 7, 2023 at 09:37 AM IST
The BJD’s Puri strongman and former speaker of the Odisha Assembly Maheswar Mohanty passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar early Tuesday. He was 67.
Mohanty was admitted to the hospital after he suddenly fell ill on November 1. According to a medical bulletin issued by the private hospital on November 2, Mohanty was initially admitted to the Neurology department and later shifted to the ICU. His condition remained critical.
Mohanty had represented the Puri Assembly constituency five consecutive times between 1995 to 2019 — once on a Janata Dal ticket and as a BJD candidate after 2000. He tasted defeat in 2019 when he lost his bastion by over 4,000 votes to his confidant-turned-competitor Jayanta Kumar Sarangi, who fought on a BJP ticket.
Active in students’ politics at SCS College, Puri and later at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where he completed his master’s degree in political science, Mohanty started his career in active politics after he won as a councillor in Puri municipality in 1978-80. He became chairman of the Puri municipality for around eight years between 1985 to 1995.
In his third term as a legislator in 2004, Mohanty had served as the speaker of the Odisha Assembly and continued till 2008. He had resigned from the speaker’s post over sexual abuse charges levelled against him by a woman employee of the Assembly.
In 2011, Mohanty was inducted into Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet for the first time and he held key portfolios like panchayati raj, tourism and culture, planning and coordination, law and revenue and disaster management during different times till 2019.
In February 2014, Mohanty had survived a deadly attack on him after unknown assailants fired at him near his residence in Puri. He had also sustained severe head injuries after he was attacked by a man during a panchayat poll campaign at Chandanpur near Puri in 2012.
Despite controversies, Mohanty had a strong hold over his constituency as he remained connected to the grassroots.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled Mohanty’s demise. In his condolence message, Patnaik called Mohanty a strong organiser and said he will be remembered for his role in the development of Puri and the nearby region.
Former speaker of the Odisha Assembly Maheswar Mohanty (Express photo) 
Share
