Chhattisgarh Assembly Deputy Speaker Manoj Mandavi dies of heart attack

Three-time MLA Manoj Singh Mandavi was a prominent tribal face of the party in Bastar region

Manoj Singh Mandavi. File image: cgvidhansabha.gov.in

Chhattisgarh Assembly Deputy Speaker Manoj Mandavi, 58, died of heart attack on Sunday. The Congress MLA from Bhanupratappur, a former State Minister, was taken to a hospital in Dhamtari town following the heart attack and died in the morning, State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla said.

As a mark of respect to the departed leader, the Chhattisgarh government has announced a one-day mourning on Sunday in Kanker, his home district, and the capital city of Raipur, a public relations department officer said.

Mr. Mandavi, who represented Bhanupratappur constituency in Kanker district, was at his native village Nathia Nawagaon in Charama area of the district on Saturday night.

After he complained of uneasiness, he was taken to a hospital in Charama where doctors attended to him, Mr. Shukla said.

Mandavi was then shifted to a hospital in neighbouring Dhamtari town where he died, the Congress leader said.

The three-time MLA and a prominent tribal face of the party in Bastar region, Mandavi had served as the Minister of State for home and prisons during the Ajit Jogi-led Congress government in the state between 2000 and 2003.

(With inputs from PTI)