Bhubaneswar: Veteran politician and former Odisha Minister Damodar Rout passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here, this morning. He was declared brain dead, yesterday.

The health condition of the senior BJD leader was critical after a massive heart attack on March 18 night. He was on a life support system at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.

The 81-year-old politician was recently discharged from a private hospital after undergoing treatment for a certain illness.

Rout, a trained veterinary doctor by profession, had joined politics in 1970s. He was first elected to Odisha Assembly in 1977.

He had been elected to the Assembly seven times—five times from Erasama constituency in Jagatsinghpur and twice from Paradip—in between 1977 and 2014.

Rout was the Panchayati Raj Minister in Janata Dal government under legendary leader Biju Patnaik from 1990 to 1995.

Apart from his traditional Erasama seat, the seasoned politician had fought against Congress heavyweight Basanta Biswal from Tirtol constituency in Jagatsinghpur in 1995 Assembly elections. He got defeated from both seats.

Rout later joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after the regional party was formed soon after Biju Patnaik’s death in 1997.

The veteran leader had served as a minister several times in the BJD government under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He had handled portfolios like Health, Excise and Agriculture in the successive BJD governments in the state.

Rout had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, a few months after his expulsion from BJD on grounds of ‘anti-party’ activities. He unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Assembly elections from Erasama-Balikuda constituency even though the ruling BJD fielded his son Sambit Routray from Paradip segment.

The Naveen Patnaik-led party revoked the expulsion of the veteran leader on January 1 this year.

Rout’s wife Snehalata Mohapatra, a retired teacher, had predeceased him. Rout is survived by his son Sambit, an MLA from Paradip and daughter Preetinanda Routray, a corporator from Ward no. 6 under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).