Bengaluru, July 14 -- Veteran BJP leader and former Karnataka minister Ramachandra Gowda, one of the principal architects of the party's rise in the state, passed away at a private hospital here on Tuesday. He was 88.
A five-time member of the Karnataka Legislative Council and a former Cabinet minister, Gowda played a pivotal role in transforming the BJP from a marginal political force during the Jana Sangh era into a major political presence in Karnataka. He represented the Bengaluru Graduates' constituency for nearly three decades and was widely respected as an organisation builder and mentor to generations of party workers.
Tributes poured in from senior BJP leaders, who hailed him as a leader whose contribution went far beyond elector...