Former Odisha Chief Minister and prominent Congress leader Hemananda Biswal died while undergoing treatment for pneumonia at the age of 80 years on Friday.
Biswal’s daughter Sunita said the former chief minister took his last breath at a private hospital. He was suffering from pneumonia and is survived by five daughters named Sabita, Sunita, Sanjukya, Manjiulata, and Anita.
Biswal also represented Sundergarh Constituency in the Lok Sabha and was a six-time MLA from Jharsuguda district and chief minister twice. He served as a chief minister for the first time for the period December 7, 1989 – March 5, 1990, and again from December 6, 1999, to March 5, 2000. He was the first chief minister of Odisha from the tribal community.
Hemananda Biswal was elected to the Assembly for the first time in the year 1974 and continued till 1977. Later, he become an MLA in 1980 and held the post up to 2004 from the Laikera Assembly segment.
Biswal started his career in panchayat politics after working as a school teacher in the Jharsugudda district.
Many leaders such as PM Narendra Modi, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi BJP MP Suresh Pujari, and others paid condolences for the demise of Hemananda Biswal.
