Bhubaneswar, March 22 -- Senior Congress leader and former Aul MLA Devendra Sharma today breathed his last at a private hospital in the Odisha capital here.

Sharma (66) was suffering from cancer and he was undergoing treatment for last several days.

The senior Congress leader had been elected to the Odisha Assembly from Aul segment in Kendrapara district in 2014. He had defeated Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former minister Pratap Keshari Deb.

The veteran leader had also served as the president of Kendrapara district Congress committee.

However, Sharma, as a Congress nominee, had been defeated by BJD's Deb from the same constituency in 2019 Assembly polls in the state.

Sharma did not contest the 2024 Assembly polls due to health i...