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Veteran Communist leader and three-time Member of Parliament Shivaji Patnaik passed away here on Monday. He was 93.
“Shivaji Babu passed away in a private hospital here on Monday. He was admitted in the hospital on Sunday after his potassium level dropped,” said Ali Kishore Pattanaik, CPI(M) State Secretary.
Shivaji Patnaik is lauded as the founder of CPI (Marxist) in Odisha. Born on August 10, 1930, the veteran leader had joined the State student’s movement at the age of 17 when he was studying in Ravenshaw College.
Patnaik had a crucial role in the formation of CPI(M) when the Communist party faced division in 1964. He remained the party secretary from 1971 to 1990. He was also elected to the Central Committee of the party.
The departed leader was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1977. Subsequently, on two occasions, 1989 and 1991, he entered the Lower House of Parliament after winning the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat.
During his long career in public life, Patnaik had led from the front in trade union and farmer movements across the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and political leaders cutting across party lines expressed condolences and paid tribute to the Communist leader.
