Bhubaneswar: Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former Odisha minister Prafulla Samal was hospitalised here on Friday in a serious condition.
The 78-year-old Samal was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital after he complained of discomfort.
BJD leaders visited the hospital and enquired about Samal’s health on the direction of party supremo and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
They met the doctors under whose supervision Samal is been treated, and urged them to ensure proper treatment for the former minister.
The BJD president also wished a speedy recovery for Samal.
The veteran leader was appointed state president of Biju Shramika Samukhya, the party’s trade union, in December 2024.
Samal’s two sons, Prayaskanti and Pranitkanti, and his sister Urmila Nayak joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last year.
Samal is a six-time MLA (1990, 1995, 2011 bypoll, 2009,2014 and 2019) from Bhadrak and Bhandaripokhari.
He contested in the 2024 Odisha Assembly election, too, but lost to BJP’s Sitansu Sekhar Mohapatra from Bhadrak constituency.