Ananth Kumar, union Minister and senior BJP leader, died at a hospital in Bengaluru this morning. He was 59. Ananth Kumar was suffering from lung cancer and had returned from the US last month after treatment in New York.
The minister's wife Tejaswini and two daughters were with him in his last moments. His body has been kept at his home in Basavanagudi. On Tuesday, the body will be taken to Jagannath Bhavan, the BJP's state office in Malleshwaram and from there it will be taken to the National College grounds in Bengaluru for last respects. He will be cremated around 1 pm, state BJP General Secretary N Ravi Kumar said.
The national flag will fly at half mast across the country as a mark of respect to the union minister. Karnataka has announced a three-day state mourning and all schools, colleges and offices are closed today.
Ananth Kumar was one of the few ministers to have also served in the earlier BJP-led government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In fact, he was the youngest minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in 1998 and was minister for Civil Aviation, Tourism, Sports, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
The six-time MP from Karnataka was the first person to speak in Kannada in the United Nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a remarkable leader, an able administrator and a great asset to the BJP.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said Mr Kumar was a "friend beyond politics" and a value-based politician. "Our families had a friendship beyond politics. He always valued and had given priority to friendship. I have lost a great friend in his death," the chief minister added.
A graduate in Arts and Law, Mr Kumar was associated with the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), before joining the BJP in 1987.
As a student activist, he was also jailed along with other ABVP leaders during the Emergency of 1975.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996. In 1998, he became the youngest member of the Vajpayee cabinet and he returned as minister in 1999.
In 2003, he became the BJP's Karnataka chief. The party won the highest number of seats in the assembly and the Lok Sabha under his stewardship.
The parliamentarian from south Bengaluru constituency held charge of two ministries in the Narendra Modi government -- Chemicals and Fertilisers since May 2014 and Parliamentary Affairs since July 2016.
Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda expressed grief over his death. "Shocked, it's unbelievable. My friend, brother Ananth Kumar is no more," he wrote.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also expressed sorrow over his death. "Deep sense of grief on hearing that Shri Ananth Kumar is no more with us. Served BJP all along. Bengaluru was in his head and heart, always. May God give his family the strength to bear with this loss," she tweeted.
Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal have also offered their condolences.
BJP's Distancing Act After MP's "Will Change Constitution" Remark PM Modi Should Quit If BJP Leader's Maharashtra Fund Claim True: NCP Devendra Fadnavis Oath 'Drama To Protect Rs 40,000 Crore': BJP Leader Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Puja Khedkar's Father Was Suspended Twice On Extortion Complaints Watch: Ashneer Grover's Reaction To 22-Year-Old's Monthly Earning Viral IIT Kanpur Introduces 'SATHEE SSC' Platform For Exam Preparation IIT Kanpur Introduces 'SATHEE SSC' Platform For Exam Preparation Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.