Banda (UP), Apr 22 (PTI) Former BSP MLA Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi died here on Thursday at the age of 55 after a prolonged illness, his family said.

Dwivedi's son, Mayank, said his father was suffering from kidney problems. He had undergone a kidney transplant at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow a few days ago.

"He breathed his last around 5 pm on Thursday at his private residence in Atarra," Mayank said.

Dwivedi was elected as MLA from Naraini seat in 2007 after he defeated Piyaria Devi, mother of the bandit Ambika alias Thokiya.

In 2010, he was convicted in a rape case and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was out on bail.

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