Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha MLA from Kendrapara Utkal Keshari Parida passed away today. He was around 65 years old. 

The former Kendrapara legislator died at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, informed his family source. 

Utkal Keshari Parida was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Kendrapara on an Odisha Gana Parishad (OGP) ticket in the 2004 elections. 

He won the Assembly election with a total of 60848 votes by defeating BJP candidate Bed Prakash Agarwal. 

Parida began his career in politics in his college days. He was the President of Salipur College Students' Union 1980-81. 

In 2021, Parida was unanimously elected as Vice President of the Odisha Archery Association.

This apart, he had held the Director post at the Jute Marketing Co-operative Society.