Bhubaneswar:  Less than a week after Ajit Mangaraj, Congress' candidate for Pipili By-poll, succumbed to COVID-19, his mother also died due to the virus late last night.

Ajit's mother Khetramani Mangaraj was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here since long after she tested positive for the virus.

Sources said she was admitted to the hospital following a heart attack and later contracted COVID-19. She was hospitalized before her son test positive for the deadly virus.

Earlier on April 14, Ajit succumbed to the virus while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here. Following his death, the Pipili by-poll, which was scheduled to be held on April 17, has been postponed. The Chief Electoral Officer will issue a new notification for conduct of the by-poll.