Odisha: Senior BJP leader Bishnu Sethi passes away; CM Patnaik mourns death

In 1996, Bishnu Sethi made his first electoral appearance when he fought the Lok Sabha poll from Bhadrak on BJP ticket, but lost his security deposit polling 13.5% votes

Published on: Sep 19, 2022, 10:38:23 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Deputy leader of Odisha BJP legislature party and Dalit leader Bishnu Sethi passed away on Monday morning at the AIIMS hospital in Bhubaneswar following kidney failure. He was 61.

Sethi was suffering from kidney-related ailments. (Facebook (Bishnu Sethi)

Sethi, who was suffering from kidney-related ailments, was in the ICU for the past one month and underwent dialysis, said AIIMS officials.

He was admitted to AIIMS after he suffered infection in his lungs and a brain stroke about a month ago. He was also a diabetic.

He has left behind a wife, son and daughter.

Sethi was a two-time MLA.

In 2019, he was elected deputy leader of the 23-member state BJP legislature party.

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Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal and Andhra Pradesh governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan along with chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed their condolences.

Leader of state BJP legislature party, Jai Narayan Mishra said Sethi’s death was a huge loss to the party. “There are very few leaders who could speak with lot of conviction about issues and Sethi was one of them,” said Mishra.

An alumnus of JNU, Sethi did not join government service though he had passed the examination conducted by Odisha Public Service Commission twice.

He instead joined as a sub-editor of the Odia newsweekly “Bishesh Khabara” started by former BJP MP MA Kharabela Swain.

At the age of 44, he became member of BJP’s national council and was made state vice president of party’s Scheduled Caste (SC) morcha.

In 1996, he made his first electoral appearance when he fought the Lok Sabha poll from Bhadrak on BJP ticket, but lost his security deposit polling 13.5% votes.

However, in 2000, he won from Chandbali assembly constituency of Bhadrak on BJP ticket and similarly emerged victorious from Dhamnagar assembly constituency on a BJP ticket in 2019.

A poet and writer, he edited Ghasaphula, a historical and cultural quarterly magazine.

His prose collection ‘Shironama Sirodharya’ reflects several socio-cultural issues.

He also has two poem collections - Nirmaya Aakash Tale and Niswa Matira Swara - to his credit.

He used to write regular columns in various Odia newspapers and journals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
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.Read More

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