Y.N. Rudresh Gowda, Congress MLA representing the Belur Assembly constituency, passed away in a private hospital here on Saturday. He was 63. He was hospitalised after he collapsed on the way to Bengaluru to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday.
Rudresh Gowda began his political carrier in 1985 when he was 30. He was a member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat from 1985 to 1996 and was its president during 1995–96. He was a member of Parliament from the Janata Dal when H.D. Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister. He quit the JD(S) and joined the Congress in 2004. He represented Belur constituency for two terms — 2008–13 and 2013–18.
Rudresh Gowda is survived by his wife, M.N. Keerthana, daughter, Y.N. Anshrutha, five brothers, and four sisters. He hailed from a coffee planter’s family known for its philanthropic activities in the district. Hundreds of people paid tributes to him when his body was kept on the premises of the District Congress Committee office and the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Hassan.