Bidar MLA Nagamarapalli no more

Six-term MLA and former minister Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli died of a heart attack in Bengaluru on Tuesday. He was 73.

Nagamarapalli was the sitting BJP MLA from the Bidar Assembly constituency.

He complained of uneasiness and chest pain on Monday night and was rushed to a private hospital where he breathed his last in the wee hours of Tuesday.

“He suffered a heart attack. We tried our best to revive him but could not. At 5 am, he was declared dead,” said Dr Madan Kumar, Administrator of Vikram Hospitals.

The mortal remains were airlifted to his home district Bidar. The final rites will be held at his birthplace Chintaki in Bidar on Wednesday. He is survived by three sons and two daughters.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, former chief minister N Dharam Singh and other leaders visited his Bengaluru residence to pay their last respects.

Nagamarapalli was in active politics for four decades. He first entered the Legislative Assembly on a Congress ticket in the 1985. He served as minister in three Cabinets - first as prisons minister in 1989 and as forest minister in 1996 and 2006. Nagamarapalli, in his political career, joined the Janata Dal, the BJP and the KJP. The KJP was merged with the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He was instrumental in the revival of the Bidar District Co-operative Bank.

Both the Houses of Legislature were adjourned for the day as a mark of respect.