Deputy Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Vishwanath Chandrashekar Mamani also known as Anand Mamani, passed away in a private hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday night. He was 56. He was suffering from a liver ailment, family sources said.
The body is being brought to Saundatti from Benglauru. It will be kept for public viewing in the Saundatti Tahashildar office for a few hours. The burial will be at the family farm house on Yadaravi road near Saundatti. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and a few members of the cabinet are expected to visit Saundatti, officers said.
He was admitted to a private hospital after he complained of abdominal pain in early August.
In the second week of August, he was flown to Chennai from Bengaluru, on the advice of his family doctors, to seek treatment from a hepatologist for his liver issues. He was shifted to Bengaluru over a month ago.
Politically powerful Lingayat family
A three time MLA from Saundatti constituency, Mamani was a BJP leader. His father Chandrashekar Mallikarjun Mamani had also served as the Deputy Speaker in the 1990s. Chandrashekar Mamani was a four time MLA — once as an independent and three times as a Janata Parivar candidate. His uncle Vishwanath Karibasappa Mamani also known as Rajanna Mamani, was an independent MLA in 2004.
Anand Mamani came from a politically powerful Lingayat family from the town of Saundatti, home of the Yallamma temple, around 90 kilometres from Belagavi. Members of the Mamani family have been elected a total of eight times —from Saundatti Assembly constituency and the Parasgad Assembly seat before the 2008 delimitation.
Two years ago, Mamani publicly raised objections to his candidature being neglected before the state cabinet expansion. However, he settled down after he was appointed the deputy Speaker.
