Koraput: Veteran politician and former minister Damburudhar Majhi died at 86 at the district headquarters hospital here on Sunday morning while undergoing treatment.According to his family, Majhi had been admitted to the hospital a few days ago following health complications associated with his age. As his condition deteriorated during treatment, he died on Sunday morning.Majhi had a long political career, having represented the state assembly on four occasions. He made his electoral debut in 1967, winning the Dabugam assembly seat as a Swatantra Party candidate. He successfully defended the constituency in the 1971 election. He then switched to the Congress and was elected from Kodinga in 1980. He returned to Dabugam and won the seat again on a Congress ticket in 1985.Majhi served in the Odisha cabinet during his five terms as an MLA and held several key portfolios, including transport, finance and culture. His political journey spanned several decades and included associations with Swatantra Party, Congress, BJD and BJP. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he contested from Nabarangpur on a BJD ticket but failed to win the seat.Majhi ended his association with the BJD and joined the BJP in Oct 2018. He continued to remain involved in public life despite stepping away from electoral politics. CM Mohan Charan Majhi, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi and several other political leaders mourned his death and conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family.
