Ajit Jogi, Chhattisgarh's first chief minister, passes away at 74 in Raipur; 'state lost its father,' says son Amit

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi died in Raipur on Friday after prolonged illness, doctors said.

Jogi, 74, was battling for life at a private hospital in Raipur for the last 20 days. He breathed his last at around 3.30 pm, according to The Indian Express. 

"He suffered two heart attacks one after the other, and we tried to revive his heart activity for over two hours, but he was finally declared dead," the news website quoted one of the doctors involved in Jogi's care as saying.

Jogi, the first chief minister of the state, was admitted there on 9 May after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home. He later slipped into a coma on 10 May and a team of eight doctors was brought in to monitor his health. He had since then remained critical and was on ventilator support.

He got the second heart attack today.

Jogi is survived by his wife MLA Renu Jogi and son Amit Jogi, who took to Twitter to confirm his father’s death.

"Chhattisgarh has lost its father," Amit wrote in an emotional post.

A former bureaucrat, Jogi had served as the chief minister of the state between 2000 and 2003, heading a Congress government, after the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.

He later parted ways with the party and went on to establish the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) political party.