Chennai: Queen of Khallikote, veteran BJD leader and 10-time MLA V Sugnana Kumari Deo breathed her last at a private hospital in Chennai at 12.44 am on Saturday. She was 87.
She was undergoing treatment at the hospital due to a serious illness. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday flew to Chennai and met her in the hospital.
Born on August 5, 1937, in Ganjam, Deo was not only a politician but also a social activist. The queen started her political career in 1961 after being elected to the Odisha Assembly for the first time from the Khalikote constituency.
She was the daughter of Raja RVM Niladri Deo and the wife of Purna Chandra Mardaraj Deo. She had been in public life for the last 60 years.
She was elected to the Assembly in 1963, 1974, 1977, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014. She had been a member of various committees of the Assembly. But, she had denied offers of Cabinet berth.
Her mortal remains will reach Bhubaneswar in a special aircraft from Chennai in the evening. The body will be taken to her residence in Khalikote for the last rites.
