Kengal Hanumanthaiah was the Chief Minister of the State of Mysore from 1952 to 1956.
Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, Hanumanthaiah started taking part in the freedom struggle. His rigorous efforts got him imprisoned more than nine times.
Hanumanthaiah is mostly remembered for his contribution to the construction of Vidhana Soudha in the 1950s. He visited Europe, Russia, United States and other places and got the idea of building Vidhana Soudha by incorporating various elements from the buildings he had seen there. The foundation was laid by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 13, 1951. It was completed in 1956. The then President of India, Giani Zail Singh unveiled the statue outside Vidhana Soudha in June, 1985.