Bihar BJP leaders condole Ananth Kumar's death

BJP leaders in Bihar on Monday condoled the death of Union minister Ananth Kumar, recalling his close association with the state of which he had been the national secretary general in-charge at one point of time.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said he is going to Bengaluru to pay homage to the departed leader.

"(Ananth Kumar) Will always be remembered as a great organiser, always smiling, who lost no election. He personally knew hundreds of workers in Bihar", Modi tweeted.

Stating that Kumar was his friend since 1977, Modi said both of them worked together in the ABVP and then in the BJP.

"A great loss for BJP. Only yesterday I telephoned to enquire about his health," he said.

State BJP president Nityanand Rai said "Ananth Kumar's contribution as the party's in-charge for Bihar can never be forgotten. Working with him, we learnt a lot".

Ananth Kumar had served as the party's national general secretary in-charge for Bihar in the first decade of this century which saw the BJP, in alliance with Nitish Kumar's JD(U), dislodging Lalu Prasad's RJD from power.

In a statement, Rai recalled Kumar's role in strengthening the party in the south, especially his home state of Karnataka and remembered his performance as "the youngest minister in the government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee".

Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said, "I have known Anant Kumar for 40 years. In his death I feel I have lost a family member. He was deeply attached to Bihar."