Ananth Kumar
Hegannahalli Narayana Shastry Ananth Kumar (22 July 1959 – 12 November 2018)[2] was an Indian politician and senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Kumar served as the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers of India.[3] He was the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs from 2014 till his death in 2018. He was a member of the Parliament for over two decades, having been elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, from Bengaluru South, from 1996 till his death.[4]
Ananth Kumar | |
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Kumar in 2017 | |
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs | |
In office 5 July 2016 – 12 November 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Venkaiah Naidu |
Succeeded by | Narendra Singh Tomar |
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers | |
In office 26 May 2014 – 12 November 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
Preceded by | Srikant Kumar Jena |
Succeeded by | D. V. Sadananda Gowda |
Minister of Civil Aviation | |
In office 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 | |
Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Preceded by | C. M. Ibrahim |
Succeeded by | Sharad Yadav |
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
In office 1996 – 12 November 2018 | |
Preceded by | K. Venkatagiri Gowda |
Succeeded by | Tejasvi Surya |
Constituency | Bangalore South |
President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka | |
In office 26 June 2003 – 31 December 2004 | |
Preceded by | B.S. Yediyurappa |
Succeeded by | Jagadish Shettar |
Minister of Tourism | |
In office 30 January 1999 – 13 October 1999 | |
Preceded by | Madan Lal Khurana |
Succeeded by | Uma Bharati |
Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports | |
In office 13 October 1999 – 2 February 2000 | |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa |
Personal details | |
Born | Hegnnahalli Narayana Shastry Ananth Kumar 22 July 1959 Bangalore, Mysore State, India (now in Karnataka, India) |
Died | 12 November 2018 59) (aged[1] Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Karnatak University |
Website | ananth |
Early life
Ananth Kumar was born on 22 July 1959 in Bangalore, Karnataka, into a middle-class Brahmin family.[5] His father, H. N. Narayan Shastry, was employed with the Indian Railways. His family settled in Hubli in 1979–80. His mother Smt Girija Shastry was a social worker associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. She served as the deputy mayor of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation between 1985 and 1986. Kumar completed his matriculation in Lamington School and pre-university course in science PC Jabin College in Hubli. He earned bachelor's degree in arts from Kadasiddeshwar Arts College, affiliated to the Karnatak University, and in Laws from JSS Law college, both in Hubli.[6]
Kumar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1973 and took part in the movement started by Jayaprakash Narayan the following year. He was jailed in the Hubli sub-jail for a period of over 40 days during the emergency.[7][6]
Politics
Ananth Kumar was an active member of RSS' student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was elected as the State Secretary of the ABVP. He later became its National Secretary in 1985. In 1987, he joined BJP and was nominated as the State President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.[7] He was then made National Secretary of the party in 1996.[8]
Ananth Kumar was elected from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996. He was re-elected and was inducted into the Second Vajpayee ministry. In 1999, he was re-elected to a third consecutive term and became a cabinet minister in the National Democratic Alliance government. He handled various ministries like Tourism, Sports & Youth Affairs, Culture, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.[8]
Ananth Kumar became the President of the Karnataka state unit of BJP in 2003. Under his leadership of the state unit, it became the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly and won the highest number of Lok Sabha seats in 2004 in Karnataka. In 2004, he was appointed National General Secretary of the BJP.
On 26 May 2014, Kumar was appointed Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in the cabinet of the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[9] In the 2016 reshuffle, he was given the additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs.[10]
Ananth Kumar did not see electoral defeat in any of the Lok Sabha elections he contested.[11]
Lok Sabha Electoral Performance
Year | Winner | Party | Losing candidate | Party |
2014 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | Nandan Nilekani | INC |
2009 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | K Byre Gowda | INC |
2004 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | Krishnappa M | INC |
1999 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | B K Hariprasad | INC |
1998 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | D P Sharma | INC |
1996 | Ananth Kumar | BJP | Varalakshmi Gundu Rao | INC |
Governance
As the minister for chemicals and fertilizers, Kumar implemented 100% mandatory neem-coating of urea, in a move that was expected to save ₹ 6,500 crore annually in government subsidy or about ₹ 10,000 in total,[12] by stopping diversion for industrial usage, apart from additional benefit of slowing the release of nitrogen, thus reducing the overall consumption.[13]
Ananth Kumar mandated price reduction by 69% on Knee Implants- from ₹1.5 to 2.5 lakh to the new price of ₹54,500.[14] Under his guidance, number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras increased to over 4300 all over India (as on 1 Nov 2018) from 89 in May 2014.[15] He launched Suvidha – Bio-degradable & environment friendly sanitary pads at just ₹2.50 per piece from 5 June 2018, while the scheme announcement was made on 8th Mar 2018 – international women's day[16]
He launched an initiative to revive 6 closed fertilizer plants with over 48,000 cr investment, along with coal and oil & natural gas ministry.[17][18]
Personal life
Social work
He along with his wife, Tejaswini, founded Adamya Chetana Foundation, a nonprofit organisation for social service. It was setup in 1998 in memory of Girija Shastry, mother of Ananth Kumar.[1] It supports underprivileged children with food in schools through the mid-day meals programme.[19] About 2,00,000 meals are served daily.[20]
He launched the initiative Green Bengaluru 1:1 as part of his larger initiative Sasyagraha,[21] to achieve 1 tree per human ratio, from the current 7 humans per tree as against the ideal 7 trees per human per research by IISc. EcoChetana initiative was to promote GreenLifeStyle in the state of Karnataka.[22][23]
As part of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Ananth Kumar had adopted the Ragihalli village.[24]
Death
On 12 November 2018 he died due to pancreatic cancer and other related complications.[25] He is survived by his wife, Tejaswini, and his two daughters, Aishwarya and Vijeta.[26][27]
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- K R Balasubramanyam (12 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar: Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- Moudgal, Sandeep (12 November 2018). "Union minister Ananth Kumar passes away at 59 in Bengaluru". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- govt of India}}
- Dutta, Prabhash K. (12 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar never lost an election in 22 years". India Today. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- "Who was Ananth Kumar". The Indian Express. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- Kattimani, Basavaraj (13 November 2018). "Hubballi shaped political career of Ananth Kumar". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- Pattanashetti, Girish (13 November 2018). "Ananth Kumar had his initiation into politics in Hubballi". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Narendra Modi government: Full list of portfolios and ministers". The Indian Express. 27 May 2014.
- "Union minister Ananth Kumar passes away". 13 November 2018.
- "Ananth Kumar, a man who never saw electoral defeat". Deccan Herald. 12 November 2018.
- "Neem coated urea to stop divergence for industrial use: Government". The Economic Times. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- Datta, Kanika (16 February 2016). "Neem-coated truth: Urea policy isn't a game-changer". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- "Knee implants to cost up to 69% less as government caps prices - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Jan aushadhi".
- "Union Minister Ananth Kumar launches biodegradable sanitary napkins in Bengaluru". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "India on road to end fertilizer imports by 2020-21 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "20 bills passed by both houses; most productive for Lok Sabha since 2000". The Financial Express. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Adamya Chetana – Anna Akshara Arogya". Adamyachetana.org. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- "'Our Annapoorna kitchens are paathshaalas, prayogashaalas too'". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- BN, Janardhan. "Central Minister Shri. Ananthkumar launches 'SASYAGRAHA' as a Nationwide Movement". Bangalore News Network. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Green Bengaluru 1:1 – Adamya Chetana". Adamyachetana.org. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- NewsKarnataka. "Adamya Chetana launches Sasyagraha in Bengaluru". NewsKarnataka. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- "ರಾಗಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ಗ್ರಾಪಂ ದತ್ತು ಪಡೆದ ಅನಂತಕುಮಾರ್". Kannada.oneindia.com. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- "Ananth Kumar passes away LIVE UPDATES: PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi express grief". 12 November 2018.
- "Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away; holiday in schools, colleges in Karnataka today". Times Now News. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- "The ever smiling Ananth Kumar: From a whisper in Karnataka to becoming it's voice in the Centre". Newsd www.newsd.in. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
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Lok Sabha | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by K. V. Gowda o | Succeeded by Tejasvi Surya | |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by C. M. Ibrahim |
Minister of Civil Aviation 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 |
Succeeded by Sharad Yadav |
Preceded by Madan Lal Khurana |
Minister of Tourism 30 January 1999 – 13 October 1999 |
Succeeded by Uma Bharti |
Preceded by Uma Bharti |
Minister of Tourism 2 February 2000 – 1 September 2001 |
Succeeded by Jagmohan |
Preceded by Srikant Kumar Jena Minister of State (Independent Charge) |
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers 26 May 2014 – 12 November 2018 |
Succeeded by D. V. Sadananda Gowda |
Preceded by Venkaiah Naidu |
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs 5 July 2016 – 12 November 2018 |
Succeeded by Narendra Singh Tomar |
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ananth Kumar. |