Former three-time Congress MLA Sarat Saikia, who later joined the BJP, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Thursday following prolonged illness, family sources said here. He was 71 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Saikia was suffering from renal failure and was hospitalised for four months. He was elected thrice consecutively in 2001, 2006 and 2011 from Upper Assam's Mahmora constituency on Congress ticket.

Former three-time Congress MLA Sarat Saikia, who later joined the BJP, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Thursday following prolonged illness, family sources said here. He was 71 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Saikia was suffering from renal failure and was hospitalised for four months. He was elected thrice consecutively in 2001, 2006 and 2011 from Upper Assam's Mahmora constituency on Congress ticket.