Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader B Shankaranand died at a private hospital in Belgaum, Karnataka in the wee hours of Friday following cardiac arrest, family sources said.
Shankaranand, 84, leaves behind two sons and five daughters. A Gandhi family loyalist, he was an eight time Lok Sabha MP from Chikkodi Reserved Constituency. Shankaranand had served in the ministries headed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao.
He also headed the Parliamentary Committee that probed the controversial bofors issue. Shankaranand who had suffered from kidney failure was admitted to the KLE Society Medical College Hospital two days ago.
The veteran Congress leader has also suffered a stroke. The end came at 150 hours, sources said. Shankarananand who had the distinction of winning eight consecutive Lok Sabha election was however humbled by a political green horn Ratnamala Savanur in 1996.
One of his son Om Prakash Kanagali was also a former minister in Karnataka. PTI
