New Delhi: Union Fertilizer & Chemicals, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru today. He was 59.
Kumar who was ailing for past few months and had been admitted to Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Shakarapuram, Bengaluru after being diagnosed with cancer.
Kumar survives by wife, Tejaswini and two daughters.
An iconic leader of Karnataka, Kumar represented Bengaluru South since 1996, and won consecutively for six terms.
He had earlier served as Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister and became a minister in Late Atal Bihari Bajpayee’s government.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he defeated then UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani by a huge margin.
Condoling Kumar’s demise on twitter Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: “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. ”
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Ms Kalinga