Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Chandan Mitra passed away on Wednesday night in Delhi, his son Kushan Mitra told news agency . Mitra was an Indian journalist, former editor and managing director of The Pioneer newspaper in Delhi.”Since it is already out there; Dad passed away late last night. He had been suffering for a while,” Kushan Mitra tweeted on Thursday morning. Chandan Mitra was 66.Mitra was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from August 2003 to 2009. In June 2010, BJP got him elected to the upper house from Madhya Pradesh. and his term ended in 2016.Mitra was a close aide of party veteran L K Advani. In July 2018, Mitra, Editor and Managing Director of The Pioneer, resigned from the BJP and joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC).Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed condolences on the demise of former Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra and remembered him for his intellect and insights. The Prime Minister recalled that he had distinguished himself in the world of media as well as politics.In a tweet, the Prime Minister wrote, “Shri Chandan Mitra Ji will be remembered for his intellect and insights. He distinguished himself in the world of media as well as politics. Anguished by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.”Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta also recalled his association with Mitra and shared a photograph of Chandan Mitra and himself together during a school trip in 1972. “I lost my closest friend–editor of Pioneer and former MP Chandan Mitra–this morning. We were together as students of La Martiniere and went on to St Stephen’s and Oxford. We joined journalism at the same time and shared the excitement of Ayodhya and the saffron wave,” he tweeted.Dasgupta tweeted, “I am posting a photograph of Chandan Mitra and me together during a school trip in 1972. Be happy my dear friend wherever you are. Om Shanti”
