Former Bhubaneswar MLA Bijaya Mohanty dies at 60

Bhubaneswar: Former MLA from Bhubaneswar Central Bijaya Kumar Mohanty breathed his last on Sunday afternoon. He was 60.

Mohanty, popular as Badal bhai in political circles, suffered a heart attack this morning while at his farm house and was rushed to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, sources said.

After postmortem, his mortal remains will be taken to Vidha Sabha and Sakha Bhawan, the headquarters of BJD, where a condolence meeting will be held, party sources said.

Mohanty was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2009 and 2014 from Bhubaneswar Central constituency on BJD ticket. The regional party, however, replaced him with Ananta Narayan Jena in the subsequent elections. He had since been keeping unwell.

Political leaders cutting across party lines have mourned his demise. In his condolence message, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi described Mohanty as an able organiser and a popular leader, who began his political journey from college days. He also praised him for his philanthropic activities.