Karntaka: Former Union Minister Dhananjay Kumar passes away at 67

Mangaluru, Mar 04: Former Union Minister V Dhananjay Kumar passed away at a private hospital in Mangaluru on Monday.

Dhananjay Kumar, (67) was suffering from illness since a long time. He was admitted to a private hospital four months ago as his health condition worsened.

Lawyer by profession, Venur Dhananjay Kumar was cabinet minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism in 1996, Union Minister of State for Finance from 1999-2000 and Union Minister of State for Textiles from 2000-2003.

Kumar went on to represent the Mangalore constituency in the Lok Sabha for four successive terms. He was elected as an MLA for Karnataka government before he became an MP.

Being a staunch loyalist of former Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S. Yeddyurappa, he was elected as the president of the new Karnataka Janata Party.

Political career

Dhananjay Kumar began his political career in the youth wing of Bharatiya Janta Party and later went on to become a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1983.

In 1991, he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha defeating the Congress stalwart B.Janardhana Poojary. With the rise of the Bharatiya Janta Party in Karnataka, Kumar went on to represent the Mangalore constituency in the Lok Sabha for four successive terms and served as Union Minister, thrice in the Government of India when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power.

He was cabinet minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism in 1996, Union Minister of State for Finance from 1999-2000 and Union Minister of State for Textiles from 2000-2003.