Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, December 27
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from the Janata Dal (United) and industrialist Mahendra Prasad died at a private hospital on Sunday night after battling prolonged illness.
The 81-year-old leader was known to be one of the richest Members of Parliament. His name was often prefixed with ”King”, a pointer to his vast fortunes. The most travelled Indian parliamentarian, Mahendra Prasad has visited 211 countries.
The founder of Aristo Pharmaceuticals was a seven-term Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar and was also elected to the Lok Sabha once. Aristo is among the top 20 pharma companies in India with a presence overseas in countries such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. He also owned Mapra Laboratories.
No matter which party is in power in his home state of Bihar, he remained in the Rajya Sabha since 1985 except for brief gaps. He joined the Janata Dal and then its offshoots, first Rashtriya Janata Dal and then JD (U). Prasad was first elected to the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket in 1980. He remained associated with the party for a long time and shifted his loyalties later as its fortunes declined in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were among those who expressed condolences at his death.
Mahendra Prasad net worth is estimated at $1.8 Billion (USD – 180 crore that comes to be Rs 13500 crore.
