Wikiwand AI

R. Ashoka

Indian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ramaiah Ashoka[2] (born 1 July 1957) is an Indian politician who served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2011 to 2013.[3][4] Serving as 18th Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly since 2023, he previously served as the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly (2014 -2018), Minister of Revenue, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Transport under the BJP government.[5] He has also served as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare under the coalition government of BJP and JDS.[6] He is a seven-time MLA for Padmanabhanagar Assembly Constituency (before delimitation of the Uttarahalli assembly constituency).

Quick facts 18th Leader of the OppositionKarnataka Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister ...
R. Ashoka
R. Ashoka in 2020
18th Leader of the Opposition
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
17 November 2023
Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah D. K Shivakumar
Preceded byB. S. Bommai (Acting)
Minister of Revenue
Government of Karnataka
In office
20 August 2019 – 13 May 2023
Chief MinisterB. S. Yediyurappa
Basavaraj Bommai
Preceded byR. V. Deshpande
Minister of Municipal Administration
Government of Karnataka
In office
27 September 2019 – 10 February 2020
Chief MinisterB. S. Yediyurappa
Preceded byR. Shankar
Succeeded byNarayana Gowda
Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office
12 July 2012 – 13 May 2013
Serving with K. S. Eshwarappa
Preceded byB. S. Yediyurappa
Succeeded byG. Parameshwara
Minister of Home Affairs
Government of Karnataka
In office
23 September 2010 – 13 May 2013
Chief MinisterB. S. Yediyurappa
Sadananda Gowda
Jagadish Shettar
Preceded byV. S. Acharya
Succeeded byK. J. George
Minister of Transport
Government of Karnataka
In office
30 May 2008 – 13 May 2013
Chief MinisterB. S. Yediyurappa
Sadananda Gowda
Jagadish Shettar
Preceded byN. Chaluvaraya Swamy
Succeeded byRamalinga Reddy
Minister of Health & Family Welfare
Government of Karnataka
In office
18 February 2006 – 8 October 2007
Chief MinisterH. D. Kumaraswamy
Preceded byN. Chaluvaraya Swamy
Succeeded byB. Sriramulu
Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
May 2008
Preceded bySeat established
ConstituencyPadmanabhanagar
In office
1998–2008
Preceded byM. Srinivas
Succeeded bySeat disestablished
ConstituencyUttarahalli
Personal details
Born (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 (age 69)[1]
PartyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouse
Pramilarani
​
(m. 1987)​
EducationBachelor of Science
Websiterashoka.in
Close

Early political career

During the Emergency, he was arrested and detained in prison along with veteran leaders like L.K. Advani at the Central Jail in Bengaluru. He was first elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in the 1997 by-elections from Uttarahalli, which was the biggest state legislature constituency in India before delimitation. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the 1999 and 2004 Assembly elections with impressive margins. In the 2004 elections, he won by a margin of 84,001 votes which is the highest in any Karnataka Assembly election.[7]

Positions held

In 2008, he became the Minister of Health and family welfare in the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) (BJP-JD(S)) coalition government. As a minister, he implemented novel schemes and also streamlined the administration of the department.[8]

As Minister of Transport in the Yeddyurappa Government from 2008 onwards, he was instrumental in modernizing the department and also using innovative hi-tech methods to automate the working of the department.[9]

When Jagadish Shettar became Chief Minister in June 2012, Ashoka was appointed one of the two Deputy chief ministers and entrusted with the ministries of Home and Transport in the Government of Karnataka.[10][11][12]

Ashoka is regarded as one of the most influential leaders of the BJP in Bangalore city and has steered the party to historic victories in the 2010 and 2015 BBMP elections.[13][14][15]

On 26 August 2019, Ashoka was appointed the Revenue Minister in Karnataka government excluding Muzrai.[16][17]

Ashokavana, a park named after R. Ashoka in Padmanabhanagar, Bangalore (2026)

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks