Former Union minister V. Dhananjaya Kumar, who was ailing for some time, died at a private hospital here on Monday. He was 68 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
His body will be kept in his house in Kadri Kambla in the city from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday to allow the public to pay their last respects. The final rites will be conducted at his native Venur in Dakshina Kannada.
Mr. Kumar began his political career in the youth wing of the BJP and later went on to become a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1983 from the erstwhile Mangalore Assembly constituency. Though he contested again to the State Assembly from the same constituency, he got defeated in 1985.
He contested Lok Sabha election for the first time in 1989 and got defeated by B. Janardhana Poojary of the Congress. However, in 1991, he defeated Poojary and was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in the Mangalore constituency.
With the rise of the BJP in Karnataka, Mr. Kumar represented the erstwhile Mangalore constituency in the Lok Sabha for four successive terms and served as the Union Minister. He was Cabinet minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism in 1996, Union Minister of State for Finance from 1999-2000 and Union Minister of State for Textiles from 2000-2003.
The BJP’s central leadership was angered by Mr. Kumar’s criticism against leaders including L.K. Advani and expelled him on the grounds that he was indulging in “anti-party activities”.
He quit the BJP along with Mr. Yeddyurappa, when the latter floated the Karnataka Janata Paksha in 2012.
Later, on the eve of Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Mr. Yeddyurappa re-joined the BJP. Later, Mr. Kumar joined the Janata Dal (S). Mr. Kumar did not stay long with the party and later joined the Congress in 2017.
Later, he was not active in politics.
