“An ever-smiling neta with friends in all parties.” This tweet by senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai about Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who passed away early on Monday morning, perhaps best describes the man who will be remembered for his affable charm. Kumar is proof that politics can be done without being extremely hostile towards opponents.A graduate in law, he realised early the importance of being soft-spoken and not being caustic. It was probably this nature that helped him reach out to leaders in the opposition and the cabinet post of minister for parliamentary affairs. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed Kumar this all-important post along with the portfolio of chemicals and fertilizers.The six-time MP had continuously represented the Bengaluru South constituency since 1996. He was also instrumental in the BJP’s rise in the constituency, apart from the southern Karnataka region. In his passing away, the party has lost a key player in its ambition to expand in South India.Modi, in a tweet condoling his death, acknowledged Kumar’s role in strengthening the party in Karnataka.Ananth Kumar Ji was an able administrator, who handled many ministerial portfolios and was a great asset to the BJP organisation. He worked hard to strengthen the Party in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. He was always accessible to his constituents.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 12, 2018Many of his cabinet colleagues recalled their personal equations with him as they condoled his death. While Sushma Swaraj termed it a “personal loss”, Arun Jaitley said he would “always be remembered for his works as parliamentarian and a political leader”. BJP president Amit Shah recalled Kumar’s abilities as a “remarkable administrator”. His passing away, he said, has left a void in the BJP.Even leaders of other parties spoke about Kumar ability as a politician. Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu described him as an “able administrator and popular leader”. Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences.Kumar joined politics as a student. He joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in the 1970s and was jailed during the Emergency. Having served as the ABVP’s state and national secretary, he joined the BJP in mid 80s as state president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He rose steadily up the political ladder and became the BJP’s national secretary in 1996.Also Read: Union Minister and BJP Leader Ananth Kumar Passes Away at 59The same year, he was elected for the first time from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency. In early 1998, realising the internet’s potential in influencing public opinion, he was the first politician to host his own independent website – www.ananth.org.During that year, he also won his second Lok Sabha election and was the youngest cabinet minister in the A.B. Vajpayee government. He was handed the civil aviation portfolio.Involvement with Niira RadiaThis was a critical period in Kumar’s life. During his term, India undertook a major programme to induct new aircraft in both its national and international carriers.In his book, Close Encounters with Niira Radia, senior advocate and former Congress MP, R.K. Anand, had written how as a minister, Kumar had grown close to lobbyist Niira Radia, who wanted the deal to go to Airbus.The book said that Radia, whose “ultimate ambition was to start her own airline”, needed Kumar’s help. The minister, in turn, “found in Niira a good teacher about the intricacies, pitfalls and vicissitudes of the powerful aviation sector.”The book claimed that with Kumar’s help, Radia managed to clinch helicopter deals from the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments.The book claimed that with Kumar’s help, Radia managed to clinch helicopter deals from the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments. Thereafter, “Niira jumped into a deal with Airbus.” Her interference in the affairs of Indian Airlines was objected to by its managing director P.C. Sen. But, Anand wrote: “Niira’s benefactor, Kumar, responded by removing Sen from that post.”“The upshot of this courtship was that as aviation minister Kumar changed the acquisition policy to favour Airbus on the specious ground that Indian Airlines and Air India no longer needed large capacity long-range airplanes but rather only short capacity long-range ones — which the Boeing company was not manufacturing,” the leading lawyer, who was a neighbour of Radia at Asola in South Delhi, wrote.However, he was removed from the post. The Rs 22,000 aircraft deal, in which Radia would have earned a 10% commission, never materialised.File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar. Credit: PTIOverseeing BJP’s victory in KarnatakaUpon his re-election in 1999, Kumar was given the charge of tourism, sports & youth affairs, culture, urban development and poverty alleviation ministries at different periods.In 2003, he became the president of BJP’s Karnataka unit. Under him, the party emerged as the single largest in the 2004 assembly elections and he was rewarded with the post of national general secretary. He played a significant role in its working in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh among other states.As a Union minister, Kumar is also credited with undertaking programmes for making fertilisers 100% neem coated. This prevented the diversion of subsidised urea from farming to industrial sector. He also capped the price of cardiac stents for the poor and got them reduced by up to 85%.As parliamentary affairs minister, he was instrumental in bringing the parties together for passing the GST Bill in Parliament despite BJP noting having a majority in Rajya Sabha.
