Karnataka Congress MLA Siddu B Nyamagouda dies after car meets with accident near Tulasigeri

Congress MLA Siddu B Nyamagouda, who won the Jamkhandi Assembly constituency in the recently concluded polls in Karnataka, died on Sunday after his car met with an accident near Tulasigeri in the state.

Nyamagouda was on the way to his constituency Jamkhandi from Goa when the car he was travelling in tried to avoid a lorry and hit a road side parapet wall, District Superintendent of Police Vamshikumar said.

Nyamagouda was earlier in New Delhi and had returned to Goa by flight before he proceeded to his constituency by car, he said.

Nyamagouda suffered severe injuries and died instantly, he said.

Karnataka Congress expressed grief on the sudden demise of the lawmaker. "Deepest condolences on the passing away of our senior leader and Jamkhandi MLA, Siddu B Nyamagouda. The Congress party stands by his family in this hour of grief," the party's Karnataka unit said.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah also condoled the "untimely death" of the lawmaker. "Siddu Nyamagouda served as an MLA, an MP and a Union minister. My friend Nyamagouda will be missed," Siddaramaiah tweeted in Kannada.

Congress MLA from Chittapur Priyank Kharge, son of Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, took to Twitter to express his condolences. He remembers Nyamagouda as a "hardworking and a sincere politician".

Nyamagouda was one of the 78 MLAs from Congress who were elected to the Karnataka Assembly after the 12 May election. He was re-elected from Jamkhandi constituency in Bagalkot district after defeating his nearest rival BJP’s Shrikanth Subbarao Kulkarni by over 2,500 votes.

Nyamagouda was the union minister in the PV Narasimha Rao ministry in 1990-91. The MLA is survived by wife, two sons and three daughters.

With inputs from PTI