Ajit Jogi, 74, finally loses battle for life after 16-year struggle

Wheelchair-bound former bureaucrat-turned-politician suffers cardiac, goes into coma; ends comes at around 3:30pm; last rites at his village Gaurella in undivided Bilaspur district on Saturday

Chhattisgarh’s first Chief Minister Ajit Pramod Kumar Jogi, who had been wheelchair-bound for last 16 years, passed away Friday afternoon following cardiac arrest.

The 74-year-old former bureaucrat-turned-politician was admitted to a private hospital here on May 9 following complaint of respiratory problem that was followed by cardiac arrest. He was in coma since then.

“He suffered another cardiac arrest this afternoon and could not be revived,” doctors attending on him said. Jogi breathed his last at around 3:30pm. The last rites would be performed at his native village Gaurella in undivided Bilaspur district on Saturday.

A pall of gloom descended over the state as the news broke that Ajit Jogi was no more. For, people were expecting that he would successfully come out from the health crises as he had been successfully doing it for the past 16 years.

Jogi, the sitting MLA from Marwahi, has been confined to a wheelchair since April 2004 when he met with a road accident during an election campaign. Whip-lash injury to the neck and serious damage to the spinal cord had left all his four limbs paralysed, severely affecting his rise.

But Jogi never gave up. Since then, he had countered medical emergencies on number of occasion. And when people lost hope, he successfully recuperated.

Having joined politics at the initiatives of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, Jogi continued to remain in public life even in wheelchair. He won the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Mahasamund and had been representing Marwahi assembly since 2008. In 2013, he left the seat for son Amit who retain it with a thumbing majority.

Despite medical issues, his struggle within the Congress party continued after a group cornered him. The simmering differences culminated with his exit from Congress in 2016.

Being the first Chief Minister, the gold-medalist Mechanical Engineer, would be remembered in Chhattisgarh for his great vision and trudging the state on the path of development. During his tenure (November 2000 to November 2003), Jogi government laid the foundation for spreading road network, building new capital and other infrastructure projects.

His initiatives for growth in rural economy would also be memorized. Jogi started paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh at minimum support price (MSP) that still continued. He also propelled farmers to go for changing crop cycle to get better dividend for the yield.