Shankaralinge Gowda passes away

He is survived by his wife Nagalakshmi, two daughters and two sons, one of whom Nandeesh Preetham is a BJP councillor.

Mr Gowda was elected for four consecutive times from the Chamaraja Assembly constituency in Mysore urban as a BJP candidate but drifted from that party and sought re-election for the fifth time on a JD (S) ticket during the 2013 Assembly elections. However, he lost to Mr. Vasu of the Congress after which Mr. Gowda maintained a low profile and was not seen in public for some time.

A charismatic personality with a command over the vachanas, he had fallen out of the BJP leadership even as an MLA in his fourth term. He had constantly raised a banner of revolt against the then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and was seen with the rebel BJP MLAs who associated themselves with the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Mr. Gowda felt slighted after he was denied a Cabinet berth.

Son of the late Sidde Gowda, who was a prominent leader in Hemmige village of Mandya district, Mr. Gowda completed his B.Sc. from the University of Mysore and studied LLB at the Sarada Vilas Law College. He started his political career in 1983 when he was elected as a corporator and became the Mayor of Mysore in 1988 and was re-elected for a second term in 1989. He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1994 as a BJP candidate and defeated Basave Gowda of the Janata Dal. He was re-elected in 1999, 2004 and again in 2008 but lost in the 2013 Assembly elections when he contested as a JD (S) candidate.