Former Union Minister Kabindra Purkayastha, who was instrumental in laying the foundation of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam, passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 95.According to his family, Purkayastha breathed his last on Wednesday evening at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), where he had been receiving treatment since December 23. SMCH Principal Dr Bhaskar Gupta said the veteran leader was in the intensive care unit and on ventilatory support. “He succumbed this evening due to multiple complications,” he stated. Doctors added that Purkayastha had been suffering from age-related health issues, including kidney and heart complications.Born in Kamarkhal village in the Sunamganj district of present-day Bangladesh, Purkayastha migrated to Silchar following the Partition. He joined the BJP in 1980 and went on to play a significant role in strengthening the party’s organisational base in Assam.Family members recalled that he worked closely with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, under whose mentorship he focused on building grassroots-level party structures across the Barak Valley and other regions of the state.Kabindra Purkayastha is survived by his son, Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha, a daughter, his grandchildren, and a large number of admirers and well-wishers.