Insta

H N Ananth Kumar, Senior BJP Leader And Modi Cabinet Minister, Passes Away

Swarajya Staff

Nov 12, 2018, 09:09 AM | Updated 09:09 AM IST

H N Ananth Kumar (Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and six-time member of parliament from South Bengaluru Lok Sabha constituency, H N Ananth Kumar, passed away in the early hours of Monday. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at Shankara Hospital in Bengaluru.

Ananth Kumar has been battling cancer for the last several months now. He had undergone treatment in London and New York, before being flown to the Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital in the city a few days back.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of his senior colleague

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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 12, 2018

Born to to Hegganapalli Narayan Shastri and Shrimati Girija Shastri in 1959, Ananth Kumar was leaves behind his wife Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, the chairperson of Adamya Chetana Foundation, and two daughters, Aishwarya and Vijeta.

Ananth Kumar, along with former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP Leader B S Yeddyurappa, are largely credited with scripting the meteoric rise of BJP in Karnataka.

A Swayamsevak since his childhood days, Ananth Kumar plunged into public life inspired by the JP movement in 1974 and went to jail fighting against the atrocities of the Emergency. He was in Hubli sub-jail for over 40 days between 8 December 1975 and 14 January 1976. Later, he actively participated in the student movement, ABVP, and served the organisation for five years as a full-time worker and in the capacity of national secretary, ABVP. In 1986, he joined the political outfit, BJP, and built the organisation inside out, especially in Karnataka.

In his long career of three decades, he served the motherland through the organisation and governance as cabinet minister in the Vajpayee government and the Narendra Modi government, holding various portfolios. He represented Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency for a record six terms.

During the tenure of the NDA government under the late PM Vajpayee, Ananth Kumar held several crucial portfolios, such as Tourism, Sports & Youth Affairs, Culture, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. He played an instrumental role in giving shape to the international airport in Bengaluru.