Veteran politician and senior Congress leader Nalini Kanta Mohanty passed away at a private hospital at Bhubaneswar today following multi organ failure. He was 63. Nalini was ailing for quite some time. He was admitted to a private hospital here on 11th October last year following brain haemorrhage and went into coma. He was shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, but was sent back to the private hospital after a few months. Nalini joined active politics in 1969 and was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly for a record seven times consecutively from Rajnagar in Kendrapada district of Odisha. During the tenure of the Biju Patnaik government in 1990-1995 he held the Works, Housing and Urban Development portfolio for the full five year term. He also served the Naveen Patnaik government in the same portfolio during 2000-2001 when he was dropped on the shadow of corruption charges. Nalini had all along fought against the Congress but after being denied a BJD ticket in 2004, he switched over to the Congress and won the assembly elections from his home constituency Rajnagar defeating the BJD candidate. Nalini was secretary of Bharatiya Lok Dal and Janata Party in the state and became the working president of the Biju Janata Dal in 2000. He was arrested several times under MISA during emergency and took active role in the steel plant movement in the state. He was also associated with trade union movement. He was first elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Rajnagar as Janata Party candidate during 1977 and in 1980 elected from the same seat as a Janata Party(S) candidate. During 1985 assembly polls he made a hattrick by winning the seat as Janata Dal candidate. During 1995 he was elected to the assembly on a Janata Dal ticket and subsequently won the 2000 assembly election as the Biju Janata Dal candidate. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and leaders of several political parties visited the hospital to pay their homage to the departed soul. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Odisha Governor, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president and several other political leaders have condoled the death of Nalini.