India News | Rahul Condoles Ex-Odisha CM Hemananda Biswal's Demise, Describes Him as Cong Stalwart

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the demise of Odisha's first tribal chief minister Hemananda Biswal and described him as a stalwart of the party.

He said Biswal would be remembered as a great tribal leader.

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"My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Shri Hemananda Biswal ji. He was a stalwart of the Congress Party and would be remembered as a great tribal leader," Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

Biswal died on Friday while undergoing treatment for pneumonia at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, his daughter Sunita said. He was 82.

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Biswal is survived by five daughters -- Sabita, Sanjukta, Manjulata, Sunita and Anita.

Biswal also represented the Sundergarh constituency in the Lok Sabha and was a six-time MLA from Jharsuguda district, besides being Odisha's chief minister twice. His first term as chief minister was from December 7, 1989 to March 5, 1990 and the second from December 6, 1999 to March 5, 2000. He was the first tribal chief minister of Odisha.

Biswal was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1974 and continued till 1977. He again became an MLA in 1980 and held the post till 2004 from the Laikera Assembly segment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)