New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Mahendra Prasad of the Janata Dal (United), also known as 'King Mahendra,' died on Monday after a prolonged illness.
Prasad, who is 81 years old, has been reportedly receiving treatment at Apollo Hospital in the national capital for some time. Prasad was a seven-time MP from Bihar and is renowned as one of the country's pharma tycoons. He is one of the Rajya Sabha's longest-serving members. In 1980, King Mahendra contested and won his first Lok Sabha election from the Bihar constituency of Jehanabad on a Congress ticket.
Despite losing the general elections in 1984, he was quickly nominated for the Rajya Sabha by then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. Prasad has been a member of the Rajya Sabha continuously since 1985. Apart from the Congress and the JD (U), Janta Dal and Rashtriya Janata Dal have both nominated Prasad for the Rajya Sabha.
Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, has offered his sympathies on Prasad's death.
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