Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 31:

Former Lok Sabha MP from Odisha's Kandhamal and senior BJP leader Rudra Madhab Ray passed away at a private hospital here today morning. He was 79.

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According to sources, Ray was suffering from kidney problems for the last eight months. Later, his condition started deteriorating with multiple organ failure. He took his last breath toady while undergoing treatment at the hospital, sources said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha BJP president Basanta Panda, Rourkela MLA Dillip Ray, senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra, Speaker of Odisha Assembly Niranjan Pujari, State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh expressed their grief over the sad demise of the leader.

Born on November 23, 1937 at Madhyakhanda village in Odisha's Nayagarh district, Ray was elected to the State Assembly three times from Daspalla constituency. He represented Daspalla in the Assembly from 1990 to 1995, 1995 to 1997 and 2004 to 2009.

Ray won the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat in 2009 on BJD ticket. However, he was suspended from BJD in 2014 for anti-party activities and was denied ticket, following which he joined BJP.

Contesting for BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Kandhamal seat, Ray lost to BJD's Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh.