H V Anantha Subbarao.
Credit: X/ @NasirHussainINC
Bengaluru: CPI stalwart and veteran trade union leader H V Anantha Subbarao passed away on Wednesday following health complications, drawing tributes from across the labour movement in Karnataka.
"It is with deep regret that we inform of the demise of Comrade Anantha Subbarao, one of the tallest trade union leaders of our state," the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) said in a statement, noting that he had been unwell for some time.
Subbarao entered the trade union movement in the 1960s at a young age, inspired by Marxism and Communist ideology. He emerged as a prominent workers leader and went on to play a key role in strengthening organised labour in the state, the statement said.
He also contested Assembly elections on the party's ticket.
Subbarao had served as the longest-serving General Secretary of the AITUC in Karnataka.
Under his leadership, AITUC expanded into new segments of the workforce, including scheme workers and public transport employees. He led several major industrial unions, including those at ITC and Mico Bosch, and was widely regarded as a steadfast champion of workers' rights grounded in Marxist principles.
For more than five decades, Subbarao worked closely with public transport workers in Karnataka, leading the KSRTC staff and workers' union and becoming the face of transport workers' struggles in the state.
He was jailed on multiple occasions during strike actions and was instrumental in negotiating with the Karnataka transport department.
He served as President of the AITUC Karnataka Committee until January 2026, when he stepped down and Prof Babu Mathew was elected as his successor.
Mourning his demise, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recalled Subbarao as a senior leader of the Communist Party of India and a veteran labour leader.
"Subbarao, who led numerous movements as a trade union leader for a long four decades, was also a close associate of mine. His tireless fighting spirit and ideological commitment serve as an inspiration to all fighters," Siddaramaiah noted in his condolence message.
He added that the trade union leader's departure was an irreplaceable loss to society, and particularly to the working class.
Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy too expressed sorrow.