The body of Union Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar was cremated at the Chamarajpet crematorium in Bengaluru, as per Smartha Rigvedi rites, on Tuesday.
The last rites were conducted by Ananth Kumar's brother Nandakumar. Armed forces personnel paid government tribute to the departed leader.
Cutting across party lines, ministers, legislators, parliamentarians and other political leaders attended the funeral and paid last respects. Ananth Kumar fans gathered in thousands to bid goodbye to the leader.
Slogans like "Ananth Kumar-ge jai" and "Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe" resounded at the public viewing at National College grounds.
The body was taken out in a procession starting at 7.30 am from 'Sumeru' - Ananth Kumar's residence in Basavangudi, to the BJP HQ 'Jagannath Bhavan', in Malleshwaram. Fans paid rich floral tributes along the way. Senior BJP leaders like Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa paid tributes at BJP HQ.
From there, the body was taken to the National College grounds in the city. Thousands of followers and fans had gathered there for the last glimpse of their beloved leader.
The last rites were supervised by purohit Bhanu Prakash Sharma, at the Chamarajapet crematorium in Bengaluru.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goel, Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP National President Amit Shah, KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao, Legislative Council in-charge Chairman Basavaraj Horatti present also paid tribute.
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