Maheswar Mohanty, former Speaker of the Odisha assembly and minister in chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet for several terms, passed away on Tuesday morning at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 67.
Maheswar Mohanty. (File photo)
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Mohanty was under treatment for a week after he suffered a brain stroke on October 31. The senior Biju Janata Dal leader had got back home after attending several programmes in Puri when he complained of uneasiness and started trembling.
A five-time MLA from Puri assembly constituency, Mohanty handled the politics of Puri town for around three decades. He first held the public office in 1975 after being elected as a councillor in Puri municipality and then chairman of the civic body between 1985 and 1990. He first became an MLA in 1995 from Puri on a Janata Dal ticket.
Mohanty was elected as speaker of the Odisha legislative assembly in May 2004, which he held till March 2008. After that, he was made a minister for the first time in 2012 and continued to be in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet till May 2019 before he lost that year’s elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He held important portfolios such as panchayati raj, law, revenue and disaster management, planning and convergence, tourism and culture.
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A lawyer by profession, Mohanty completed his LLB from Utkal University and MA in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University.
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A lawyer by profession, Mohanty completed his LLB from Utkal University and MA in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University.
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Condolences poured in from all corners over his demise. BJP national vice president Baijayant Panda took to X and wrote, “I am saddened to hear the news of the passing away of Mr. Maheshwar Mohanty, former speaker of Odisha Assembly, former minister and senior politician. May the bereaved soul rest in peace. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”
Mohanty had a death scare in February 2014 when he was shot at by miscreants on his hand and shoulder.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
