Former MP Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo dies at the age of 76

Odisha's Gajapati dynasty king and former parliamentarian Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo died on Friday morning at a hospital here, following prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 76.

Deo is survived by daughter Kalyani Gajapati, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly election on a BJD ticket from Paralakhemundi constituency.

In his condolence message, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Paralakhemundi king's demise was a "great loss" for the state.

Official sources said the former MP would be cremated later in the day with full state honours, and forest and environment minister Bikram Keshari Arukha would attend the funeral on behalf of the chief minister.

Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, who is a nephew of Deo, hailed him as a "man who had made valuable contributions towards Odisha's progress and development".

The Paralakhemundi king had long been suffering from heart-related ailments.

Born on March 6, 1943, Deo had represented the Berhampur parliamentary constituency for two terms as a Congress member. He switched over to the BJP in 1998 and joined the ruling BJD a decade later, in 2009.

The Odisha government had in 2017 announced that it would bear all expenses of his treatment.