Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Jan 8 (IANS): Former West Bengal Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi passed away in Prayagraj on Sunday morning. He was 88.

Tripathi was also a three-term Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly.

He had been admitted to a local private hospital in December with a fractured hand and breathing issues.

He also had general weakness besides decreased oral intake and urine output and was later shifted to the ICU. After undergoing treatment at the hospital for more than a week, Tripathi was brought home, where he passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Tripathi had contracted the Covid virus twice and recovered after a long treatment at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow.

Kesari Nath Tripathi, born on November 10, 1934, in Allahabad, had an additional charge for short stints as the Governor of Bihar, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly for six terms.

He was cabinet minister of institutional finance and sales tax in Uttar Pradesh during the Janata Party regime from 1977 to 1979.

Tripathi also practiced as a senior advocate at the Allahabad High Court.

He was also an author and a poet and has authored several books. His chief literary works are two anthologies called 'Manonukriti' and 'Aayu Pankh'. His book 'Sanchayita: Keshari Nath Tripathi' received many accolades.