Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jul 15: Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka minister Ramachandra Gowda passed away on Tuesday following age-related illness. He was 87.

Born in 1938, Gowda hailed from Kunigal in Tumakuru district. He began his public life as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) swayamsevak before joining the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and later became one of the party's veteran leaders in Karnataka.

Gowda served four terms as a member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and was a two-time minister in the state government.

In the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy, he held the portfolios of Lottery and Small Savings, Science and Technology, and Planning and Statistics. He later served as Karnataka's Medical Education Minister in the B S Yediyurappa-led government between 2008 and 2011.

Former chief minister B S Yediyurappa expressed grief over Gowda's demise, describing him as "another brother" he had lost.

"My decades-long friend, senior leader and former minister Ramachandra Gowda's death has deeply saddened me. His death has not only affected the public sphere, but also created a big personal void for me," Yediyurappa said in a post on X.

Chief Minister D K Shivakumar also paid tribute, describing Gowda as an honest politician with a deep understanding of Bengaluru's issues.

"Ramachandra Gowda was a leader with an immense following. He was an honest politician and had deep knowledge about the problems of Bengaluru city. I tried to meet him two days ago but, sadly, he passed away," Shivakumar said.

The Karnataka government issued a notification expressing condolences and announced that Gowda's last rites would be conducted with full state honours.