Bangalore, January 12
Veteran politician and former Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, who left a stamp of his own on Indian politics, died at his residence here this afternoon after a prolonged illness.
Seventyseven-year-old Hegde, ailing for nearly a year, suffered a stroke around midnight last night and had bleeding in his brain, his personal physician, Dr Ramana Rao, said.
Hegde slipped into coma and did not respond to “stimulus”, Dr Rao, who is Hegde’s physician for the past three decades, said.
Hegde underwent a brain surgery in London early last year but did not make much recovery, keeping him out of active politics since then.
He is survived by his wife Shakuntala, a son and two daughters. Chief Minister of Karnataka twice, Hegde had played a key role in uniting the non-Congress opposition and had the credit of heading the first non-Congress government in Karnataka in 1983 with the support of the BJP. —
PTI
