Bhubaneswar: Senior political leader and former Odisha MLA Utkal Keshari Parida passed away at a hospital in Bhubaneswar on Saturday following a brief illness. He 65.
Parida, former Kendrapada legislator who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, breathed his last on Saturday, family sources said.
Parida was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Kendrapada constituency as a candidate of Odisha Gana Parishad (OGP) in the 2004 elections. He had defeated BJP candidate Bed Prakash Agarwal.
Having made a foray into politics in his college days, Parida was the President of Salipur College Students’ Union 1980-81.
He was unanimously elected as vice president of the Odisha Archery Association in 2021. Parida had held the post of director in the Jute Marketing Co-operative Society.