Jagarnath Mahato, 57, the minister of excise and education for Jharkhand, passed suddenly on Thursday morning in a hospital in Chennai. He has been dealing with health issues since having a lung transplant in October 2020 as a result of a Covid-19 infection.A son and four daughters remain as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader’s descendants. Mahato passed away at the MGM Healthcare in Chennai, where he had been taken last month because of lung issues.
In honour of Mahato’s passing, the JMM-led Jharkhand government has proclaimed a two-day state of mourning beginning on April 6. By Thursday night, his mortal remains will have been airlifted to Ranchi.
According to a statement from the Jharkhand Chief Minister’s Office, no official events would be held during the period of state mourning and “the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all the buildings where the national flag is hoisted regularly.” Additionally, the State Government has decided that all State Government offices would be closed on April 6th.
CM Hemant Soren expressed his sorrow on the death of his friend by stating, “Tiger Jagarnath Da is no more! One of Jharkhand’s most notable agitators, a feisty, diligent, and well-liked leader, passed away today.
Raghubar Das, the former chief minister of Jharkhand and national vice-president of the BJP, offered his condolences, stating that “it will not be possible to fill the void left in the political field of Jharkhand by the departure of Jagarnath Da, popularly known as Tiger,” and that he was “very popular” among the opposition leaders as well due to his cordial demeanour.
Mahto was the second serving Soren government minister to pass away; in October 2020, JMM minister Haji Hussain Ansari passed dead from difficulties connected to Covid. Known as “Tiger” in Jharkhand, Mahto entered politics under Binod Bihari Mahato’s guidance and joined the Jharkhand Andolan, a long-running JMM-led campaign for the creation of a distinct tribal state in Jharkhand.In November 2000, Jharkhand was formally separated from Bihar to become a distinct state. Mahto won the Dumri electorate in the Giridih district during the 2005 state Assembly elections, marking his electoral political debut. Since then, he has won all three Dumri elections.