Bhubaneswar, Feb 10 (Reporter) Veteran BJD leader and 10-time MLA V Sugnana Kumari Deo, who belonged to the royal family of Khallikote, passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai here on Friday night. She was undergoing treatment for an old age ailment and breathed her last at the hospital at about 12.44 a.m. Deo (87), daughter-in Law of King Ramachandra Mardaraj Deo and popularly called Queen of Khallikote by the people of Odisha, was born on August 5, 1937, in Chennai. She started her political career in 1960 and was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1961 as a Congress candidate from the Khallikote Assembly seat. In 1964 she was elected from Khallikote as Utkal Congress candidate and later elected four times from the same seat as Janata Party and Janata Dal candidate in 1977, 1985, 1990, and 1995 elections. She was elected as as Biju Janata Dal candidate from the Khallikote seat in the 2000 and 2004 elections and from the Kabisuryanagar Assembly seat in the 2009 and 2014 Assembly elections. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had rushed to Chennai to meet her at the hospital on Friday and inquire about her health condition. Deo was also a member of various committees of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. In her long political career, she had never desired to hold a ministerial berth. With a Master degree from Madras University, Deo also obtained a diploma in stenography, homeopathy, and interior decoration. Her hobbies were stamp collecting, driving cars, interior decoration, and reading and writing articles. She had a special interest in helping the downtrodden women in society. Leaders of all political parties have expressed their profound grief at the demise of V. Sugnana Kumari Deo...////...