Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and former Odisha MLA Haji Md. Ayub Khan passed away on Wednesday at his residence at Kantabanji following a prolonged illness. He was 78.
Sources said Khan, who had been unwell for a long time, breathed his last in the morning.
Ayub Khan was elected to the Odisha Assembly for the first time in 2004 from Kantabanji constituency as an independent candidate. He subsequently joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and won the Assembly elections again in 2014 as a party cand
idate.
During his political career, Khan made notable contributions to the development of Kantabanji and remained actively associated with public issues in the region.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Deputy Chief Minister K V SIngideo and a host of senior leaders have expressed profound grief over the demise of Khan.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ayub Khan, senior organizer of the Biju Janata Dal and former legislator from Kantabanji.
In his absence, the party has lost a skilled organizer and compassionate leader. The work he has done for the development of the region and the service of the people will forever immortalize him.
In this hour of grief, after speaking with his son Dr. Amjad Alli Khan, I extended my deepest condolences to the entire family and prayed for the eternal peace of his departed soul,” Naveen Patnaik said in a post on X
A pall of gloom descended on Kantabanji and nearby areas as political leaders, supporters and locals have expressed grief over his demise and remembered his role in the constituency’s development.