Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday expressed grief over the death of Prativa Mohapatra, wife of former Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra.
“I am saddened to know about the demise of Prativa Mohapatra, wife of late Pyarimohan Mohapatra. May her immortal soul rest in peace and my deepest condolences to the bereaved family members at this tragic time,” Naveen, the former CM and BJD president, posted on social media.
Once considered the most influential force behind the Naveen Patnaik government, the former bureaucrat-turned-politician was expelled from BJD, following an alleged coup attempt to dislodge the regional satrap in June 2012 while the then CM was in London.
Mohapatra later launched Odisha Jan Morcha as a new political party to contest the 2014 elections, asserting that he will come to power in the state and end Naveen’s over a decade-long rule.
He passed away at a hospital in Mumbai after a prolonged illness at the age of 77 in 2017.
Notably, his daughter, Sikta Pati, joined the BJD in 2019 and then switched sides to Congress in 2023.