Former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi passes away at 74

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi passed away on Friday, nearly three weeks after he was was admitted in a private hospital in a critical condition. 

He was 74. 

The news of his death was shared by his son Amit Jogi.

"20-year-young state of Chhattisgarh lost its father figure today. Not only me but the entire state of Chhattisgarh has lost his father, not just a leader. Honourable Ajit Jogi ji left his family of 2.5 crore people to be with God. Support of village and poor, the love of Chhattisgarh has gone far away from us," Amit Jogi tweeted. 

"I am out of words in the hour of grief. May God give peace to his soul. Last rites will be held in his birthplace Gaurella," he added. 

He was admitted to hospital on May 9 after he suffered cardiac arrest. 

A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi joined the Congress party and served as the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 after the formation of the state.

His relationship with the Congress soured after he and his son Amit Jogi got embroiled in a controversy over the alleged fixing of the by-election (2014) held for Antagarh seat in Kanker district. He then left the party in 2016 and formed his own outfit Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).

he, however, failed to make any dent in the 2018 assembly election in the state which his party contested in alliance with the BJP. The party was able to win only five seats Marwahi from where he won for the fourth consecutive term.