Hundreds of supporters fought back tears as they gathered near the Biju Patnaik International Airport here for a glimpse of their leader lalatendu (lulu) Bidyadhar Mohapatra as the mortal remains of the 52-year-old Congress leader arrived from New Delhi by an IndiGo flight on Monday evening.
Grieving people, including a large number of women, amid the ‘lulubhai Amar Rahe’ slogans accompanied the body from the airport to his residence at Unit-6 here.
The young and the old, including women, cried remembering their leader. Mohapatra’s wife Namita alias Baby and only child, daughter Upasana accompanied the body on a well-decorated vehicle from the airport to their residence.
Mohapatra passed away at 10.14 pm at the Medanta Medicity hospital in Gurgaon on Sundaynight. He had been under intensive treatment for last one month. While he was suffering from liver cirrhosis, later it led to multi-organ failure.
The body was kept at his residence and would be taken to the Congress Bhavan and Assembly premises on Tuesday before being taken to his native place Gadarodanga in Brahmagiri in Puri district for cremation.
In the night, many senior leaders cutting across the party lines visited Mohapatra’s residence and paid their last respects.
A pall of gloom has also descended on his native place where villagers gathered to mourn the son of the soil.
“He was an admiring personality. He was a true leader and an efficient organiser. He was talking to all not keeping in mind which party he/she belonged to. It is surely an irreparable loss,” said Mohapatra’s father-in-law Narayan Sahu.
Born on February 14, 1964, Mohapatra was a dynamic leader having excellent networks in the Congress party all over the State.
The three-time Congress MlA represented the Brahmagiri constituency in a row from 1995 to 2009. He was PCC executive president. He was a frontrunner for the PCC president post beforfe incumbent Prasad Harichandan took over in 2014. He was currently an OPCC Coordination Committee member.
A graduate in History and Political Science from the BJB College, Mohapatra rose the ladder from student politics. He had a good command over youths and students. His supporters had formed a ‘lulu Sena’, which worked for any cause he took up without any hesitation.
He started his career as Joint Secretary, State NSUI and later became its State unit president. He was a close associate of former Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik.