Jayanti Patnaik, a four-time Congress MP and the first chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), died on Wednesday evening in a hospital in Bhubaneswar. She was 90 years old.
Jayanti Patnaik, the wife of former Odisha Chief Minister and Assam Governor JB Patnaik, was rushed to a private hospital around 8 p.m. after experiencing complications. She passed away in the hospital. Her son Prithvi Ballav Patnaik and two daughters survive her.
Jayanti was elected to the Lok Sabha from Cuttack and Berhampur in 1981, 1984, and 1998. In 1996, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
She was also the first chairperson of the National Council of Women and the second chairperson of the All India Mahila Congress.
Patnaik, who was born on April 7, 1932, received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Shailabala Women’s Autonomous College in Cuttack. She completed her post-graduate studies at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) in Mumbai.
Patnaik was also known for her literary abilities, having translated Krishnavatara into Odia. When JB Patnaik became president of the Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress in 1953, she married him. JB Patnaik died in Tirupati in 2015.
Former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak both expressed their condolences and paid tribute to the late leader.
C president Niranjan Patnaik expressed condolences and paid tribute to the late leader.