Karnataka MLA C M Udasi passes away at 85

He was 85 and is survived by his wife and son Shivakumar Udasi

Senior BJP leader, former minister and six-time legislator C M Udasi passed away due to age-related illness at a private hospital here on Tuesday. He was 85.

Udasi represented the Hangal constituency in the Haveri district. He had served as public works minister in the B S Yediyurappa-led government in 2008, as RDPR minister in the BJP-JD(S) coalition before that, and as forest minister in the 1980s.

He is survived by his wife, daughter, and son Shivakumar Udasi, who is BJP MP from the Haveri constituency.

Condolences poured in over Udasi’s demise. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa recalled their association spanning decades and said that his demise was like the loss of a brother. "We were together throughout our political career and unitedly faced its ups and downs," he said.

When Yediyurappa broke away from the BJP and formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), Udasi followed him there. However, Udasi lost the 2013 Assembly polls as the KJP candidate. He returned to the BJP along with Yediyurappa and won Hangal in 2018.

He became a legislator for the first time in 1983 as an independent candidate. In 1985, he won as the Janata Party’s candidate. In 1999 when the Janata Dal split up, Udasi went with the JD(U). He joined the BJP in 2004.

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai remembered Udasi's contribution to the departments of public works and rural development, describing him as a teacher and a guide. "It's an irreparable loss to the state," he said.

Former chief ministers Siddaramaiah, H D Kumaraswamy and Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar also condoled Udasi’s demise.