S M Krishna, former Karnataka CM who put Brand Bengaluru on global map, passes away at 92

Bengaluru: Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, the suave Fullbright Scholar who became Karnataka’s chief minister (1999–2004) and was credited with making Bengaluru the Silicon Valley of India, has died aged 92. 

Krishna, who was in and out of hospital for various ailments in the past few months, died around 2.30-2.45 am early Tuesday.

Last year, Krishna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his political career spanning six decades, starting from his first election way back in 1962 upon his return from the US. 

In 2017, Krishna severed his ties with Congress and joined the BJP. But Krishna maintained a low profile in politics since 2012 when he was shunted out of the ministry of external affairs. 

Krishna is best known for his time as Karnataka chief minister.

“Krishna’s tenure was crisis-ridden,” senior journalist Imran Qureshi wrote in DH last year, recalling the kidnapping of Dr Rajkumar by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, which plunged the state into violent protests, arson, fan suicides and tension for 108 days. There were also violent Cauvery protests. 

But under Krishna, the IT sector grew, benefitting Bengaluru. “He focussed on performing like a CEO of a corporate entity to turn Bengaluru into Singapore. The rest of the state would benefit from the enhanced revenue generated from the capital, he believed,” Qureshi wrote. “His support for IT growth and primacy for a public-private partnership model put Brand Bangalore on the global map.”

Such was Krishna’s famed charisma that he decided to hold early elections in 2004. But he could not bring Congress back to power as the election threw up a fractured mandate. In this election, Krishna contested from and won Chamrajpet in Bengaluru, shifting from his Maddur constituency in Mandya. 

Krishna resigned as MLA as he was appointed as Maharashtra Governor in 2004. 

“Dissolving the Assembly six months before my five-year tenure was to end in 2004 was a Himalayan blunder,” Krishna told DH in January last year.

“The second blunder was accepting the Maharashtra Governor’s post offered to me by Congress. Instead, I should’ve continued here as Leader of the Opposition. I should’ve continued in state politics for some more time,” he said. 

“Whenever Congress would have come back to power, I’d have been the CM, and it would have given me an opportunity to improve Bengaluru’s infrastructure to meet global standards,” Krishna said in that interview. 

As chief minister, Krishna constituted the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), in which Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani played a key role. 

Entry to politics

Krishna studied at the Southern Methodist University (Dallas) and George Washington University. 

In 1960, John F Kennedy was running for the US presidency. Then, 28-year-old Krishna, a law student, wrote to Kennedy. Krishna expressed his desire to run Kennedy's poll campaign in localities that had a sizable Indian population. Kennedy obliged. After Kennedy became the 35th US President in 1961, he wrote to Krishna thanking him for his efforts. 

In 1962, Krishna contested his first election from Maddur and won as an Independent. Krishna also represented Mandya in the Lok Sabha. 

Tennis, fashion design

Krishna loved tennis. In 1999, when he led Congress to victory as its Karnataka president, Krishna had promised Sonia Gandhi that he would not touch a tennis racket until the elections got over.

Krishna was a huge fan of Australian tennis legend Frank Sedgman. The veteran leader was also known to visit London to watch Wimbledon. 

Krishna also had a fascination for clothes and made designing them a hobby. 

President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Vibhushan to former union minister S.M. Krishna during Padma Awards 2023 ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, in New Delhi, on March 22, 2023.

Padma Vibhushan

In early 2023, Krishna was chosen for the Padma Vibhushan. This was seen as a gesture towards a tall Vokkaliga leader in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls. Krishna was once JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda’s arch-rival and their battles for Vokkaliga leadership are well known. 

Towards the end, Krishna chose not to campaign for anybody during elections. 

“I will not campaign for anyone,” Krishna said. “...I have to respect my age, and I’m entitled to some rest.”