Chamarajanagar MP Srinivas Prasad no more

Mysuru: Chamarajanagar MP, former Union Minister, and BJP leader V Srinivas Prasad passed away due to age-related ailments at a private hospital in Bengaluru during the early hours of Monday, at 1.27 am.

Prasad had announced his political retirement on March 17, following the celebration of the golden jubilee of his political career. However, his residence in Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru, remained bustling with political activities, as leaders from both Congress and BJP, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former CM B S Yediyurappa, visited him to seek his support.

Among the leaders who visited his residence since the declaration of the Lok Sabha polls are Mysore-Kodagu and Chamarajanagar segment candidates Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, M Lakshmana, S Balaraj, and Sunil Bose, as well as Bose’s father and Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa and BJP state president B Y Vijayendra.

While Prasad’s relatives and supporters, including his brother V Ramaswamy and nephew Bharat Ramaswamy, joined the Congress under the leadership of Siddaramaiah on April 2, Prasad’s sons-in-law Dr N S Mohan and former MLA B Harshavardhan were seen at several election meetings, including one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru on April 14.

Born to M Venkataiah and D V Puttamma in Ashokapuram, Mysuru, on July 6, 1947, Prasad entered electoral politics on March 17, 1974, in the by-election to Krishnaraja Assembly segment as an Independent. He was a volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from childhood until 1972 and was active in the Jan Sangh and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Besides being a Dalit leader and politician, he was known for his avid reading and intellect.

Prasad contested 14 elections, winning eight of them. He contested nine Lok Sabha polls from the Chamarajanagar constituency and emerged victorious in six. He served as a Union Minister in the A B Vajpayee Cabinet from 1999 to 2004, as the Lokajanashakthi MP. He was elected twice as an MLA and served as Karnataka's Revenue Minister.

He began his Lok Sabha journey as a Janata Party member in 1980 before joining the Congress, then the Janata Dal (United), and returning to the Congress. In 2016, he joined the BJP after being removed from Siddaramaiah's Cabinet.

Prasad is survived by his wife Bhagyalakshmi and three daughters: Prathima Prasad, Poornima, and Poonam. Another of his son-in-law, Devaraj, is an IRS (Revenue) officer, serving as GST Commissioner (Appeals) in Hyderabad.

The body arrived at his residence by 7.30 am on Monday and will be placed at the Dasara Exhibition Grounds in Mysuru at 9 am for the public to pay their respects. Numerous political leaders and dignitaries are expected to visit.