Karnataka BJP MP and former Union minister Sreenivasa Prasad dies at 76

Bengaluru, April 29

BJP MP from Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar and former Union minister V Sreenivasa Prasad, who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here, died on Monday, family sources said.

He was 76. Prasad is survived by wife and three daughters.

The six-time MP from Chamarajanagar and two-time MLA from Nanjangud in Mysuru district was ailing for some time.

On March 18 this year, Prasad announced his retirement from electoral politics, marking an end to his almost 50 years in public life.

He started his political career with the erstwhile Janata Party in 1976 and joined the Congress in 1979. He also had a stint with the JD(S), JD(U), and the Samata Party before joining the BJP.

Prasad served as the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2004.

He joined the Congress later, got elected as an MLA in 2013 and became the revenue and religious endowment minister in the Siddaramaiah government.

In 2016, Prasad resigned from the Karnataka Assembly and rejoined the BJP. He contested the 2017 Nanjangud bypolls on a BJP ticket but lost. He then successfully fought the Lok Sabha election from Chamarajanagar in 2019.

Condoling his death, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah described Prasad as a strong voice for the oppressed Dalits.

“He was a progressive-thinking political leader. Although we worked in different parties for a long time in old Mysuru region, we maintained a respectful relationship with each other. When I met him recently, we reminisced. I never thought Prasad would leave us so soon,” the CM said.

BJP stalwart and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said: ‘I met him only a few days ago and I can’t believe that he is not with us now. He was recognised as an influential Dalit leader who had made his mark in the politics of the state and the country.”