Condolences pour in after Ananth Kumar's death

Condolences from political leaders cutting across party lines, including Central and state ministers have been pouring in ever since Union Minister Ananth Kumar's demise was made public early this morning.

His sudden death came as a shock, especially to the BJP leaders and workers from the state.

While national joint secretary B L Sathosh was among the first to share the news of Kumar's death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Kumar's wife, Tejaswini, to express his condolences.

Modi, who later took to Twitter, hailed Kumar as a remarkable leader and an able administrator. "Extremely saddened by the passing away of my valued colleague and friend. Kumar entered public life at a young age and went on to serve society with utmost diligence and compassion. He handled many ministerial portfolios and a great asset to the BJP. He worked hard to strengthen the Party in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. He was always accessible to his constituents. He will always be remembered for his good work," he said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy acknowledged Kumar as a "value based" politician and a great friend.

"Our families had a friendship beyond politics. He always valued and had given priority to our friendship. I have lost a great friend in his death. He was a value based politician, who made significant contribution to the country as an MP and Union Minister. His pro people attitude and activities had made him apple of eyes of Bengalureans. May his soul rest in peace and may God give the strength to to his family and his followers to endure this loss," added the chief minister. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said Kumar represented Bangalore South consecutively, was a good Parliamentarian. "He was one most successful BJP politicians. He was efficiently managing his portfolios in Narendra Modi's cabinet," he added.

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda said that Kumar's demise was a great loss to the nation.

Ananth Kumar was elected from Bangalore South for the first time in 1996, when I became the prime minister. He has been serving society since then. I have know him for the last three decades. I have lost a dear friend. His demise is a great loss to the nation. May God give strength to his family to overcome this loss," he said.

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Kumar's party colleague and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said that he was deeply shocked and pained by Kumar's untimely demise. "Kumar, as a union minister played an active role in resolving state issues. He has also played a significant role in the growth of BJP in Karnataka. We have toured the entire state together. When I was an MLA, he was practicing in High Court. He later moved to politics. He has been a dedicated politician ever since. A six-time Parliamentarian, he has served in both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi cabinets," he added.

BJP MLA R Ashoka, who was one of Kumar's closest associates, was inconsolable. He expressed that Kumar's friendship was irreplaceable.

"I had worked with Ananth Kumar for the three decades. We built the party together. This is the second major loss to the party after MLA B N Vijaykumar's demise. We have lost a great leader. After being diagnosed with his illness, he was positive about his recovery. But it was destined otherwise. His demise is already impacting us gravely," he said.

Another party colleague Basavaraj Bommai, said that his childhood friend's demise had come as a personal loss to him.

"I have known Ananth Kumar since college days. We joined the student movement together. He was sensitive by nature. He has contributed to both Karnataka and other states. He was also instrumental in raising the height Almatti dam. It's a deep personal loss to have lost a childhood friend," he added

Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah too said that Kumar's demise was a great loss to national politics. "He entered public life at a young age through ABVP which catapulted him to national politics eventually. He was a good administrator and had great concern for Karnataka's development. He had always been responsive to state problems as a Central minister. He was the bridge between the state and Centre. I shared good relations with him despite our political differences. May his soul rest in peace."

While AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge K C Venugopal said that Kumar had left a deep void in national and Karnataka politics, Revenue Minister R V Deshpande hailed him as a "go-to man" for the BJP leaders.

"I’ve lost a dear friend. We didn’t expect he’d leave us so soon. He was elected to the Lok Sabha six times in a row. A diligent administrator who always had a smile on his face. For any problem in the NDA, Ananth Kumar was the go-to man.”