Kahnu Charan Lenka, an Indian politician and former Union Minister, died Feb. 13, 2026, at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 86. He passed away following health complications.
Lenka spent several decades in public office, moving from the Odisha Legislative Assembly to the national stage in New Delhi. He built his career as a loyalist to Indira Gandhi, supporting her during the split of the Indian National Congress. This allegiance allowed him to secure electoral victories while representing the party's requisitionist faction.
His national career reached its peak when he served in the Rajya Sabha from 1988 to 1994. During this period, he held two significant portfolios, serving as the Union Minister of State for Railways and the Union Minister of State for Agriculture. Before his time in Parliament, he earned a unique distinction from the Government of Orissa in 1968 as the first farmer in the state to cultivate hybrid maize and jowar seeds.
Lenka completed a full six-year term in the upper house of Parliament and previously held a cabinet position in the Odisha state government. His work combined agricultural innovation with senior government administration. He is survived by his family.