SHIVAMOGGA: Former Karnataka minister and veteran leader of Janata Parivar K H Srinivasa passed away due to age-related illness at the age of 85 in his Bengaluru residence on Friday.
An influential leader in the Malnad region, Srinivasa began his career in law after completing his education in political science and law at the University of Mysore.
Srinivasa was the third son of Kanugodu Hariyappanavar, a former member of the Mysore Legislative Assembly. Srinivasa completed his pre-university education at Sahyadri College in Shivamogga, obtained his degree from Maharaja College, Mysuru, and later an MA in Political Science from the University of Mysuru.
He also earned a law degree from Sharada College, Mysuru. Before pursuing a career in law he briefly worked as a lecturer at Maharaja College.
Driven by a passion for meeting the educational and cultural needs of the people in the Malnad region, he served as the first secretary of the Sagar Pranthiya Vidyavardhaka Sangha.
He later became the president of the Malnad Development Foundation, helping thousands of students with their education and playing a key role in the establishment of the prestigious Lal Bahadur College in Sagar. Under his leadership, various educational institutions were established.
Political career
Srinivasa’s political career began in 1967 when he contested and won the Sagar Assembly seat, defeating his strong rival Kagodu Thimmappa by 700 votes.
He served as the political secretary to then-chief minister Devaraj Urs in 1974. In 1978, he was elected as the MLA from the Shivamogga constituency and became the minister of information and energy in Urs's Cabinet.
He was re-elected as the Shivamogga MLA in 1985 but lost the 1989 and 1994 elections. From 1996 to 2002, he was a member of the Legislative Council and served as the Leader of the Opposition. In 2004, he contested for the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat but was defeated.
An accomplished writer, music lover, orator, and Yakshagana enthusiast, Srinivasa authored five books, including poetry collections. His wife, Shalini Srinivas, is also a renowned poet and writer. The couple had one son and three daughters.
CM expresses condolences
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing his condolences, said that Srinivasa was a multi-faceted person who was involved in art and literary works along with politics.
Srinivasa was the link between old and new generations of politicians. Minister N S Boseraju, the Malnad Development Foundation president M Haranath Rao, vice presidents B R Jayanth, and Ravi Kumar, general secretary H M Shivakumar, treasurer Kavalkodu Venkatesh, and other board members and faculty of affiliated institutions, expressed their condolences. All educational institutions under the foundation declared a holiday on Saturday in his honour.