BELAGAVI: Four-time Member of Parliament from Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency and veteran politician SB Sidnal passed away at the age of 86 at his residence in Belagavi on Tuesday. A large number of people and politicians attended his funeral, held at his Sidnal Farms at Sanikop, near Bailhongal, in the evening.
Sidnal hailed from a family of freedom fighters, with some of them taking part in major freedom movements in the early 1940s. His father, Basappa Sidnal, was a freedom fighter, while his maternal uncle Chennappa Wali had taken part in historic freedom movements. Wali was also MLA of the earlier Sampgaon assembly segment in Belagavi district.
Sidnal was a close associate of late B Shankaranand, former Union Minister, and had successfully contested four Lok Sabha elections, starting from 1980. He could not stretch his political success much longer and eventually lost his fifth Lok Sabha election from Belagavi.
A lawyer, Sidnal switched to the Janata Dal after he was repeatedly snubbed by the Congress, but could not settle into the Dal, then headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. Even as his political downfall had already begun after his fifth LS loss, Sidnal decided to join Kannada Nadu Party, a political party floated by former MP Vijay Sankeshwar, about 15 years ago.
Although Sidnal and his sons, Shivakant and Shashikant, contested assembly elections as representatives of Kannada Nadu Party, none could make an impact, and ended up losing. A popular leader in the 80s and 90s, Sidnal could not take up any significant projects or works for the overall development of Belagavi, then a neglected region of the State.
CM condoles demise
Several noted politicians, including Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, have condoled his demise. In his message, Yediyurappa called him a simple, straightforward, disciplined and honest politician who was able to become MP four times, back to back. “May God rest his soul in peace and give enough strength to his family members and followers to bear the loss they suffered,’’ Chief Minister Yediyurappa said.