Karnataka: Former minister Vaijanath Patil passes away

Bengaluru, Nov 02: Former Karnataka Minister Vaijanath Sangappa Patil passed away on Saturday. He was 82 years old. Patil was a minister in both Ramakrishna Hegde's and H D Deve Gowda's government.

Patil hailed from Bidar, but had settled down in Kalaburagi district. Patil was elected MLA from Chincholi constituency two times and MLC from Gulbarga constituency. Politically, he was associated with both Janata Dal and Congress. In 1994, when he was a minister in Deve Gowda's cabinet, Patil was in Janata Dal. Towards the latter part of his political career, Patil was also associated with the BJP.

He was known for his fight for special status to the Kalyana (Hyderabad-Karnataka) region. He was vocal in his demands and led many agitations.

He was the Horticulture minister in the Ramakrishna Hegde's government and later held the portfolio of Urban Development department in H D Deve Gowda cabinet in 1994. Hailing from Bidar, Patil later moved and settled at Chincholi taluk of Kalaburagi district.

Patil was born on 29 July 1938 in the agricultural family at Hakyala village of Aurad Taluk Bidar district. He completed his BA from BVB degree college Bidar and LLB from SSL law college in Gulbarga. For his service to society, Gulbarga University conferred an honorary doctorate upon him during its 31st Annual Convocation.