Kathmandu, March 20 (IANS) Alarm and grief swept through Nepal Saturday after former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala - architect of the peace negotiations that ended a decade of Maoist insurgency - died following fortnight-long respiratory problems. He was 85.

Armed police forces were deployed in the capital and around the residence of Koirala's daughter, Sujata Koirala, as politicians cutting across party lines, diplomats, civil society leaders and hundreds of grieving followers arrived there to pay their last respects to the man who spent more than six decades in the service of the nation.

Koirala's former protege and ex-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba announced Koirala's passing away to the crowds that had gathered outside his residence after the news spread that he had sunk into a deep coma.

Koirala died at 12.10 p.m., Deuba said, after the Nepali Congress that Koirala headed called an emergency meeting of its central committee members.

Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who went to Koirala's residence to pay his last respects, called an emergency meeting of the cabinet to discuss the death and a state funeral for the former prime minister.

Koirala's body will be kept at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu Sunday morning for thousands of admirers to pay their last tribute. It will be then taken to Aragyaghat, the cremation area at the Pashupatinath temple, for the last rites.

Koirala, hailed by former US president and Nobel Peace Laurate Jimmy Carter as his hero for having brought the Maoist guerrillas to mainstream politics, had been discharged from the Shahid Gangalal Memorial Heart Hospital Wednesday, where he had been admitted after suffering from a low haemoglobin count due to chronic lung problems.

Once a chain smoker, Koirala had asked to be discharged from hospital and to be taken to the residence of his daughter, Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, rejecting the recommendation by doctors to be flown abroad for treatment.

In the recent past, he had been admitted to hospitals in New Delhi, Thailand and Singapore.

Koirala, who began his career as a trade union leader from a jute mill in Biratnagar town in southeastern Nepal, was exiled to India for taking part in a pro-democracy movement opposing the absolute rule of Nepal's hereditary Rana prime ministers.

He was also jailed by King Mahendra for opposing the absolute rule of the Shah dynasty of kings.

Hailing from a family that saw three brothers become prime ministers, Koirala himself ruled Nepal as prime minister five times.

Though his leadership was marred by feuds within the party that saw it split and stoked the Maoist insurgency due to rising corruption, Koirala is respected for his unflagging opposition to king Gyanedra's attempt to rule Nepal with the help of the army.

He is also regarded as an unwavering friend of India though his exile in India became controversial after his admission that he had been involved in counterfeiting Indian currency to raise funds for the pro-democracy struggle.

His leadership saw Nepal become secular from a Hindu kingdom and hold a historic election to choose a constituent assembly that is writing a new pro-people constitution.

The government of Nepal had decided to nominate Koirala for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in signing a peace pact between the Maoists and the major parties.

The passing away of the octogenarian leader could deal a grave blow to Nepal's peace process that is to culminate in a new constitution in May. In Koirala's absence, there may be no other leader of his stature who can hold the bickering parties together.

The Nepali Congress also faces an internal war of succession. Koirala, who kept an iron grip on the party, had indicated he wanted his mantle to fall on his daughter.

However, her bid to lead the party is likely to be opposed by Deuba, who had split the Nepali Congress in the past after a leadership tussle.

Girija Prasad Koirala: A man with simple convictions (Obituary) 

Kathmandu, March 20 (IANS) Fate had written Girija Prasad Koirala, the man known as the Kennedy and Nehru of Nepal, would be at the helm of the Himalayan republic's politics, coming as he did from a family that was one of the biggest champions of democracy in Nepal.

Born in Tadi in Bihar, he was the son of Krishna Prasad Koirala, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, who died in prison in Nepal for his pro-democracy convictions.

Educated at the Kirori Mal College of Delhi University, India, Koirala became involved in politics through trade union movement in his hometown Biratnagar in southeast Nepal, known for the largest jute mill in Nepal.

Koirala founded the Nepal Mazdoor Union, that exists even today as the Nepal Trade Union Congress.

The lanky Koirala and his three elder brothers, B.P. Koirala, Tarini and Matrika were at the forefront of the pro-democracy movement in 1960 when King Mahendra sacked B.P., Nepal's first elected prime minister, and jailed the Koirala brothers.

Freed in 1967, the Koiralas were exiled to India where they struggled to rally against the absolute royal reign and were finally able to return to Nepal in 1979 after mounting international pressure on the king.

Under his leadership, the Nepali Congress won the election in 1991 and Koirala became prime minister for the first time, a post he was to assume four more times later.

However, dark days for Nepal started from 2000, during Koirala's third term when the Nepali Congress government became embroiled in corruption and the Maoist insurgency, started in 1996, began gathering momentum.

It was also this time that the then king Birendra and nine more members of the royal family were killed in a shocking massacre in the royal palace, a turning point for Nepal's monarchy.

Koirala was forced to resign in 2001 when the army, called in to combat the Maoists, refused to heed his command.

Though his protege Sher Bahadur Deuba became the new prime minister, a leadership tussle between the two led to a vertical split in the largest party in Nepal that eventually contributed to its humiliating defeat to the Maoists in the 2008 elections.

In 2005, Koirala was chosen as their undisputed leader by the political parties after the then king Gyanendra followed in his father Mahendra's footsteps and tried to seize power with a military-backed coup.

Consistently rejecting offers by the king to join the royal cabinet, Koirala led a coalition of parties in a peaceful protest against it whose biggest achievement was reaching an understanding with the Maoist guerrillas.

The united protest led to the fall of the royal regime in 2006 when Koirala became prime minister again and held the first historic constituent assembly election in 2008 to pave the way for a new constitution.

However, the leadership during crisis became tarnished during peace and Koirala's Nepali Congress fared badly in the election with most of his family members, including his daughter Sujata, losing.

He also earned the wrath of the victorious Maoists by delaying handing over power to them, which led to the latter opposing his bid to become Nepal's first president.

The Maoist government also saw a covert opposition by Koirala's party to the pledge to merge the Maoist army with the state army and eventually led to the collapse of the shortlived Maoist government in 2009.

During his last days in politics, Koirala also faced revolt from his own partymen, who had been urging him to relinquish his grip on the party.

The rise of his daughter to the post of foreign minister and deputy prime minister also came under attack.

Despite the criticism and his failing health, Koirala's death has created an immense void in Nepal with no other politician of his stature. It has also given rise to fears that the new constitution may not be promulgated by May 28 now, given the protracted bickering among the parties.

Koirala, the author of a memoir, "Simple Convictions: My Struggle for Peace and Democracy", had been nominated by the government for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The 85-year-old is survived by his only child, Sujata.