Bhubaneswar: The mortal remains of veteran BJD leader and 10-time former MLA V Sugnana Kumari Deo will arrive in the Odisha capital from Chennai on Saturday evening.
The flight, carrying her mortal remains, will land at Biju Patnaik International Airport here at 7.30 pm. “The body will then be taken to Khallikote and the timing for last rites will be finalised,” Mardaraj Parishad secretary Sudhansu Sahu informed.
He added that they are yet to receive any information about programmes being planned in her honour in the state.
The 87-year-old, a member of the erstwhile Khallikote royal family, had breathed her last at 12.44 am, hours after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior party leaders visited her at the private hospital, where she was undergoing treatment, in Chennai, on Friday night.
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and many other dignitaries expressed their condolence on the demise of Deo.
“Saddened to know about the demise of V Sugnana Kumar Deo. She was a very senior leader of BJD and she made a lot of contributions towards the party. She has left her mark in the public service by representing both Khalikote and Kabisuryanagar. She was elected to the Assembly 10 times, It is an irreparable loss. May her soul rest in peace and my deepest condolence to the bereaved family, Naveen said in a post on X.
Born on August 5, 1937, Deo was first elected to the Odisha Assembly in 1963. She was an eight-time MLA from Khallikote and a two-time MLA from Kabisuryanagar. She was elected as MLA in 1963, 1974, 1977, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
She was respected by leaders cutting across party lines and used to be addressed as ‘Khallikote Rani’, having married the erstwhile royal scion of Khallikote late Purna Chandra Mardaraj Deo.
Also Read: End Of An Era: Khallikote Queen & 10-Time Odisha MLA Sugnana Kumari Deo Passes Away
