Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom and former Lok Sabha member, died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday. He was 60.
Wadiyar is survived by his wife Pramoda Devi.
Wadiyar was recently elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association and had undergone a second bariatric surgery (for weight loss) a month ago.
On Tuesday, he attended his office at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and returned to the Bangalore Palace complaining of chest pain. He was rushed to hospital.
“He was brought in around 2 pm. For one-and-a-half hours, Dr Ranganath Naik and four others tried to revive him. But by 3.30 pm, he was declared dead,” said Dr Madan, administrator of Vikram Hospital.
He was admitted to the hospital for four days in November due to lung infection, according to hospital spokesperson Abdul Hafeez.
Wadiyar would be cremated at Mysore’s Madhuvana on the Nanjanagud Road, where other royals have been cremated, with state honours.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has declared two-day official mourning.
Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj, former Chief Ministers S M Krishna, H D Kumaraswamy, Jagadish Shettar and B S Yeddyurappa,
Home Minister K J George, Health Minister U T Khader and several prominent politicians, administrators and sports personalities visited the hospital and paid their last respects.
Son of late Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the last ruling king of Mysore, and Maharani Tripura Sundari Ammani, Srikantadatta Wadiyar was born on February 20, 1953. In 1974, he became the titular head of the Yadu dynasty. Wadiyar used to preside over the Dasara festivities to ensure royal traditions were not broken. An avid lover of sports, particularly golf, cricket and horse racing, he was involved in their administration also.
He was the chief patron of Mysore Race Club and Bangalore Turf Club, as also the Delhi Race Club.
In fact, the lands on which both Bangalore and Mysore clubs stand were donated by the Mysore royal family.
A quiet, soft-spoken and genial person, Wadiyar represented Mysore in the Lok Sabha for four terms.
The Wadiyar dynasty ruled Mysore from 1399 to 1947. For many Mysoreans, Srikantadatta Wadiyar remained the king even in a non-empire era.