Bidar (Karnataka): Former Karnataka minister and veteran Congress leader Bheemanna Khandre has passed away at the age of 102 due to age-related health issues, his son and Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre confirmed.

A freedom fighter and a prominent cooperative leader from the Kalyana Karnataka region, Khandre died late on Friday at his residence. He is survived by two sons, including Eshwar Khandre, and four daughters.

A towering figure in the Veerashaiva Lingayat community, Khandre served as the state’s transport minister in Veerappa Moily’s cabinet. He had been battling age-related ailments and respiratory issues for 10–12 days, initially receiving treatment at a private hospital in Bidar before continuing care at his Bhalki residence, Eshwar Khandre said.

A lawyer by profession, Bheemanna Khandre began his political journey as the first elected president of Bhalki Municipality in 1953. He entered the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1962, serving four terms as MLA and two terms in the Legislative Council.

Khandre played a key role in the cooperative sector, serving as founding president of the Bidar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Hallikheda and the Mahatma Gandhi Sugar Factory in Hunji. He also contributed to the implementation of the Naranja and Karanja irrigation projects.

As a freedom fighter and a champion of Hyderabad’s liberation, he opposed Razakar atrocities and actively worked to retain Bidar district within Karnataka during the state’s unification. He also presided over Shantivardhaka Educational Institutions and founded Akkamahadevi College in Bidar and an engineering college in Bhalki.

Khandre was national president of the Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha, the apex body representing the Veerashaiva Lingayat community.

Eshwar Khandre said the public can pay their respects at the family home in Gandhi Ganj, Bhalki on Saturday. The final rites will be held in the evening at Shantidham, Bhalki, following Veerashaiva Lingayat traditions.

Expressing grief over his passing, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: "Bhimanna Khandre, who participated in the freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, was also at the forefront of the Karnataka unification movement. He was a born fighter who stood firm to keep the Bidar district in Karnataka and succeeded in that effort. Bhimanna Khandre's life footsteps are eternal in this soil."

Other leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, also expressed grief and paid tributes to Khandre.

PTI