Bhubaneswar: Former Kamakhyanagar MLA Prasanna Patanayak breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Friday morning. He was 74.
He was suffering from prolonged illness and was hospitalised on Thursday after his condition worsened, sources said.
Patanayak was first elected to the Assembly from Kamakhyanagar on a Janata Party ticket in 1977. He, however, lost the next Assembly election in 1980. He made history as the first BJP candidate elected to Odisha’s State Assembly in the 1985 election which was swept by the Congress. He, however, quit the BJP and joined the Janata Dal in 1990. He was elected to the Assembly for the third time the same year.
His political career spanned multiple parties: Janata Party (1977–1980), BJP (1985–1990), and Janata Dal (1990–1995).
He returned to the saffron fold in 2014.
Patanayak significantly advanced education in Kamakhyanagar, facilitating the establishment of over 15 institutions, including Kamakhyanagar Women’s College, Birashaala Regional College, and Bhuban Women’s College.
His last rites will take place at Swargadwar in Puri.
