Ashok Gasti, BJP Rajya Sabha member from Raichur, succumbed to COVID-19 at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday night.
The 55-year-old leader had taken oath as an RS member on July 22. Mr. Gasti was admitted to Manipal Hospitals on September 2 after testing positive for COVID-19.
Hospital director Manish Rai said Mr. Gasti was diagnosed with severe COVID-19 pneumonia; he was critically ill with multi-organ failure and was on life support system in the intensive care unit.
A low-profile leader who rose through the ranks by his work in the RSS, Mr. Gasti is credited with organising the BJP in Raichur district in north Karnataka. His choice for the Rajya Sabha nomination, which came as a surprise to many, was regarded a recognition of his dedicated work of decades. He was the president of youth morcha of the BJP in Raichur when he was 18.
He handled many positions in the party, including general secretary of the party’s OBC cell, district unit president, and in charge of Raichur, Ballari, and Koppal during the last Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Gasti is survived by wife and two daughters.
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