Bhubaneswar: Maheswar Mohanty, one of Puri’s stalwart political leaders and former Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly is no more. He breathed his last early morning today at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was under treatment after getting a mild brain stroke a few days back. He was 67 years old.
Maheswar Mohanty was a strong political leader in Puri district and was elected as an MLA from Puri Constituency for five times. He was also a Minister and Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. His political career as an MLA started in 1995 when he was elected from Puri on a Janata Dal Ticket under legendary leadership of Biju Patnaik. After that he had won four consecutive times from Puri on Biju Janata Dal ticket under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
During his splendid political career, Maheswar Mohanty held key portfolios as a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet such as Panchayati Raj, Revenue and Disaster Management, Law, Planning and Coordination, and Tourism and Culture. He served as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2008.