Former Rajya Sabha member Bhagirathi Majhi passed away at a hospital in Odisha's Baripada on Monday following a brief illness, family sources said.

Majhi, 66, is survived by wife, a daughter, and two sons, they said.

He was undergoing treatment and breathed his last at a COVID Hospital at Bankisole, said Dr. NR Das, the nodal officer of the hospital.

Majhi was elected to Rajya Sabha as a BJP nominee. He was a member of the Upper House of Parliament from March 24, 2006, to July 1, 2010.

He also served as the president of the Baripada Urban Cooperative Bank from 2004 to 2006. Majhi had joined politics after working for several years with a public sector bank.

Odisha Revenue Minister Sudam Marandi and several other dignitaries mourned the demise.