Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays his last respects to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar in Bengaluru, Monday. Kumar, 59, passed away early Monday morning after battling lung cancer for several months. (PTI Photo)
The last rites of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar, who passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru Monday after battling lung cancer for several months, will be performed at Chjamarajapete crematorium around 1 pm on Tuesday. The mortal remains of Kumar will be taken to Jagannath Bhavan, BJP state office at Malleshwaram, where arrangements will be made for party workers and his followers to pay their last respects. His body will then be taken to National College Ground in the city for the public to pay their respects. The mortal remains were placed at his residence in Basavanagudi for the entire day Monday.
The Karnataka government Monday declared a three-day state mourning till November 14. The State government also declared a holiday on Monday as a mark of respect to Kumar. “A state funeral with 21-gun salute and guard of honour will be accorded to the mortal remains of Kumar at a crematorium in the city’s southwest suburb on Tuesday afternoon in accordance with Hindu rites,” an official said.
Ananth Kumar, a Union Minister and six-time MP, died at a private hospital after battling lung cancer for several months. Kumar, 59, breathed his last around 2 am with his wife Tejaswini and two daughters by his bedside, said Sankara Hospital Director Nagaraj. He returned to Bengaluru only recently after undergoing treatment in the US and Britain. The senior BJP leader had been on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit for the last few days.
Ananth Kumar served as Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers since May 2014 and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs since July 2016.
A stream of leaders and supporters Tuesday paid their last respects to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar, who passed away on Monday. The body was taken from his Basavanagudi residence, where it was kept since Monday morning to Jagannath Bhavan, the BJP state headquarters at Malleshwarm, in a decorated military vehicle with personnel of the three services- the Army, Navy and Air Force- accompanying it.
In the 2009 and 2014 Parliament polls, the Congress, sensing a prevalent anti-incumbency mood, made strong efforts to loosen Kumar’s grip over the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat by fielding candidates like the youthful Krishna Byregowda and former IT honcho Nandan Nilekani, only to see the BJP leader have the last laugh after forging alliances, behind the scenes, with key leaders of rival parties. The organisational strength of the BJP in south Bengaluru coupled with the capacity of Ananth Kumar, a Brahmin, to strike ground level alliances ensured that the former ABVP leader remained a formidable electoral force despite no major backing from any single caste or community.
President Ram Nath Kovind said, “This is a tragic loss to public life in our country and particularly for the people of Karnataka. My condolences to his family, colleagues and countless associates." Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu described Kumar as a “colleague for years together, from students’ movement to Parliament”, and hailed him as a “dedicated statesman”.
In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kumar worked hard to strengthen the party in Karnataka. “Ananth Kumar Ji was an able administrator, who handled many ministerial portfolios and was a great asset to the BJP organisation. He worked hard to strengthen the Party in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. He was always accessible to his constituents..I spoke to his wife, Dr. Tejaswini Ji and expressed condolences on the passing away of Shri Ananth Kumar Ji. My thoughts are with his entire family, friends and supporters in this hour of grief and sadness. Om Shanti,” he tweeted.
Imprisoned during the Emergency, Kumar parachuted into mainstream national politics in his second term as an MP when he was made a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet in 1998. As civil aviation minister in the Vajpayee government, Kumar’s heart was still in his south Bengaluru constituency resulting in him being a frequent Delhi-Bengaluru flyer in those early years. The rise of the BJP in Karnataka in 2004 — when the party won an unprecedented 80 seats in the state assembly elections — was essentially scripted by Ananth Kumar, and his friend and foe B S Yeddyurappa, through clever ground alliances and strategies. Read More
Just a few days ago, someone asked me about who my friends in Politics were. Unhesitatingly I mentioned Ananth Kumar as one of the only two people that I considered as a friend in the world of Politics. And today I have lost him. It’s when you lose a friend that you come to the realisation that as you travel through the journey of life, one is fortunate if you come in contact with a few good people. People that make you feel that you are fortunate to have them in your life. Ananth Kumar was that for me. I have known him for 24 years, having met him first in 1994. He was a young ABVP and BJP leader, had an infectious enthusiasm. Read More
Ananth Kumar was born in Bengaluru on July 22, 1959, to H N Narayan Sastry and Girija in a Brahmin middle-class family. He had obtained a degree in law. He was married to Tejaswini and the couple has two daughters. Kumar began his political career as a member of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and became the national secretary in 1985. He was one of the most influential leaders in the state. After joining the BJP in 1987, he was appointed as the state president of the party’s Yuva Morcha and finally became the general secretary in 1995. He won the then Lok Sabha elections from Bengaluru South constituency. This was followed by his victory in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 from the same constituency. Read More
Ananth Kumar, Union minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet and BJP’s leader in Karnataka, passed away in Bengaluru in the early hours of Monday. He was 59. Kumar had been battling lung cancer for several months. The senior BJP leader had been on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit for the last few days. Read More
The Union Cabinet will meet Tuesday morning to condole the demise of senior minister Ananth Kumar. A resolution condoling the demise of the Union parliamentary affairs minister and hailing his contribution would be passed. As per established practice, resolutions are passed by the cabinet in the memory of ministers and senior leaders. Similar resolutions were passed following the demise of then Union ministers Gopinath Munde and Anil Madhav Dave.
Welcome to our LIVE blog. The last rites of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar, who passed away Monday, will be performed at Chjamarajapete crematorium in Bengaluru around 1 pm on Tuesday. Follow to get the latest updates.