New Delhi: Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, who had a chequered political career in which he constantly shifted allegiance in the last two decades, died here Friday morning following a heart attack.
The 68-year-old Sangma, who was elected nine times to the Lok Sabha from Tura in Meghalaya, became the first Speaker from the northeast.
The news of his death was broken by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who made an obituary reference to him and adjourned the House for the day as a mark of respect. The Rajya Sabha also adjourned after lunch for members to pay homage to Sangma, whose body will be taken to his home in Meghalaya.
Sangma leaves behind his wife Sorodini, two sons — Conrad, a former finance minister in Meghalaya, James, a sitting MLA — and daughter Agatha, who was the youngest minister in Manmohan Singh’s ministry in 2009.
In the 11th Lok Sabha, shortage of numbers forced the BJP to accept Congress candidate Sangma as Speaker after Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn-in as Prime Minister.
An affable and convivial personality, Sangma had friends across parties. After a long stint in the Congress when he became a minister of state in the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1984, he became the labour minister in Narasimha Rao’s cabinet.
Sangma was among those who rose in revolt against Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins in 1999 along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar to form the Nationalist Congress Party, which he left to join Trinamool Congress. Later, he split with the TMC and formed his own National People’s Party.
In 2012, Sangma became the official candidate of BJP against Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections.
He was also the Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990 and leader of opposition in the Assembly from 1990 to 1991.
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also expressed his condolences at Sangma’s demise. “My deepest condolences to family of former Lok Sabha Speaker #PASangma on his sad demise,” Patnaik tweeted. PTI
