Ananth Kumar, Bengaluru’s most loved MP, known for his political expertise


Bengaluru, Nov 12 (PTI): A staunch RSS ideologue, a hard boiled organisation man, Bengaluru's "most loved" MP and the first person to speak in Kannada in the United Nations are some of the connotations associated with Union Minister Ananth Kumar.

Known for his political adroitness, Kumar, a six-time member of Parliament, gregarious with strong political instincts, had managed to be in the inner circle of the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- be it during the heyday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, or now, Narendra Modi.

Born in a middle class Brahmin family on July 22, 1959, in Bengaluru to Narayan Shastri, a railway employee, and Girija N Shastry, his early education began under the guidance of his mother who herself was a graduate.

Graduate in Arts and Law, Kumar's journey into public life began due to his association with the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation of the Sangh Pariwar, which he served in various capacities, including as state secretary and the national secretary. Kumar had even demonstrated against the then Indira Gandhi government's imposition of Emergency and was imprisoned for it for about 30 days. With his steady political growth, his association with the Sangh, where he was mentored politically, also grew stronger.

Looking for a bigger ground in politics, Kumar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1987, where he went on to take up the responsibilities of state secretary, state president of the Yuva Morcha, general secretary and national secretary.

Along with state BJP chief Yeddyurappa, Kumar is among the few party leaders who can be credited for the growth of BJP in Karnataka, as they built the party from scratch, paving the way for installation of the first ever saffron party government in the South.

Kumar began his parliamentary career in 1996, when he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Bangalore South. The constituency remained his strong fort till his death and he won it for six consecutive times. He enjoyed the credit of being the "youngest" minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in 1998. He served as the Civil Aviation minister, also Minister for Tourism, Sports, Youth Affairs and Culture, Urban development and poverty alleviation.

Kumar, who also held positions in various parliamentary committees, was serving as the Union Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals and Fertilizers in the Narendra Modi led government, after winning the 15th Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru south by defeating IT Czar Nandan Nilekani.

He is widely credited for implementing Neem Coated Urea and setting up of Jan Aushadhi Kendras with focus on affordable quality health care.

While being the all important member of the BJP's parliamentary board, Kumar is often regarded as the "Delhi face" of the Karnataka BJP and also for the state government who could be counted upon for taking issues concerning Karnataka. He is known to have had a politically hostile relationship with Yeddyurappa on occasions and often faced accusations of meddling too much in Karnataka affairs, when the Lingayat strongman was at the helm as its Chief Minister.

Kumar was married to Dr Tejaswini and they have two daughters Aishwarya and Vijetha.

Kumar was the Chief Patron of Adamya Chetana, an NGO involved in social work which he ran along with his wife in the memory of his mother Girija Shastry.

  

Top Stories

Comment on this article

  • KS Mayya, Mangalore/Bangalore

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    If you see Karnataka from the binoculars (with lotus stickers) used in Delhi, there are hardly any visible faces from BJP except for Yeddy, Reddy, Eeshwarappa and most importantly Anant Kumar.
    Delhi power brokers are mainly from UP and the surrounding states and some lucky ones from MP. Anant Kumar had leverage amongst these power brokers during NDA regime.
    It is in this regard, Karnataka has lost big in the form of Anant Kumar!!!! May his soul rest in peace.
    Our own Kateel has very little leverage. Despite DK voting successively in favor of BJP, our elected representatives be it Dhananjay Kumar or Kateel did precious little wield power in the Center and were mere bystanders.

    DisAgree Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • Vincent Rodrigues, Katapadi/Bangalore

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    Seasoned politician and a class leader who will be remembered for long.

    DisAgree Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • Steevan Dsouza, Ashoknagar/AE

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    Remembering his wonderful and gentle soul will forever remain in our hearts.

    DisAgree Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • prem, moodbidri

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    I wish both Mangaluru and Udupi constituencies had development friendly MPs like Anant Kumar.

    RIP Sir

    DisAgree [4] Agree [12] Reply Report Abuse

  • SANMOR, Mangalore/Muscat

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    Yes If we had elected Leader like Janardhan Poojary...............

    DisAgree [4] Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • Paul, Mangalore

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    RIP

    DisAgree [5] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • VR, Udupi

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    He was not just beloved, he was instrumental in bringing Metro and new airport to Bangalore not to mention, corruption free. Huge loss to Karnataka and India.

    DisAgree [17] Agree [15] Reply Report Abuse

  • Satya, Mangalore

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    Not the time to point fingers. May his soul rest in peace. But it seems you have forgotten the Radia tapes

    DisAgree [13] Agree [14] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Mon, Nov 12 2018

    No wonder Bengaluru is the best city in India ...

    DisAgree [6] Agree [26] Reply Report Abuse


Leave a Comment

Title: Ananth Kumar, Bengaluru’s most loved MP, known for his political expertise



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.