Dinesh Gundu Rao is an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress. He was consecutively elected Member of Parliament from Gandhi Nagar, Karnataka Assembly Constituency 6 times from 1999 to 2023. He took charge of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu in 2020. 016) and President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (4 July 2018 – 11 March 2020).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Dinesh Gundu Rao was born on Thursday, 9 October 1969 (age 53; as of 2022) in Kushalanagar, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India. His zodiac sign is Libra. He attended Bishop Cotton Boys School in Bangalore. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru in 1992.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 11″
Hair color: black
Eye Color: Black
family and caste
Dinesh Gundu Rao belongs to Kannada Brahmin family.
parents and siblings
His father, R. Gundu Rao (deceased), was the Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka from 1980 to 1983. Died of cancer in London on August 22, 1993.
Dinesh Gundu Rao with his father, R. Gundu Rao
Her mother’s name is Varalakshmi Gundu Rao (deceased) was also a politician who entered politics in 1996 after the death of her husband. In 1996, he contested and lost the Lok Sabha elections from South Bengaluru to the BJP candidate Ananth Kumar. He died of a covid-related illness in 2021.
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s mother Varalakshmi Rao
He is the second of three sons of his parents. His brother Rajesh Gundu Rao was an actor who died of a brain hemorrhage in 2012. He was associated with the Janata Dal (Secular) and parted ways with the party after he was denied the post of JD(S) youth wing president. His brother, Mahesh Gundu Rao, is also a politician associated with the BJP.
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s brother Rajesh Gundu Rao
wife and children
On 16 December 1994, she married Tabassum Rao (also known as Tabu Dinesh Rao), whom she met through mutual friends in college. Tabasumi comes from a Muslim family. None of them married. Each follows their own religion and participates in each other’s celebrations. In an interview, Tabu said,
Yes, absolutely true. I am a pluralist. I participate in Hindu pujas and rituals at home and participate in all Hindu festivals. Similarly, my husband celebrates the festival.’
He has two daughters, Ananya Rao and Ameera Rao.
Dinesh Gundu Rao with his wife Tabu Dinesh Rao and daughter Ananya Rao
Dinesh Gundu Rao with his daughters
Religion/Religious Beliefs
He follows Hinduism.
signature/autograph
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s signature
Career
He became the working president of the Youth Congress in 1994. However, barely a few months in, Dinesh took a step back when he realized that the huge opposition he faced was completely justified as he was a novice. So, he was appointed General Secretary instead. He worked in the party until 1999 at the grassroots level.
Dinesh Gundu Rao along with other Congress leaders during a political campaign
In 1999, he contested the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections from Gandhi Nagar Assembly Constituency and won the seat, defeating independent candidate V. Nagaraj with 1115 votes. In 2004, Gundu Rao defeated JD(S) candidate Nagaraj by 28,268 votes and followed it up by winning the seat in 2008, defeating BJP candidate PC Mohan by a margin of 6,966 votes. He repeated his feat in 2013 when he defeated BJP candidate PC Mohan by 22,607 votes. From 20 May 2015 to 21 June 2016, he was the Minister of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs in the Siddaramaiah government. Rao was re-elected MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2018. On 4 July 2018, Rao was appointed as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee; He served in this position until March 11, 2020.
Dinesh Gundu Rao at KPCC President Inauguration Ceremony 2018
On 11 September 2020, he became the head of AICC in Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. He retained the Gandhi Nagar seat in 2023, defeating his BJP rival Sapthagiri Gowda by just 105 votes.
confrontations
Alleged land encroachment in Bengaluru North Taluk
In 2014, the Lokayukta police ordered the tehsildar of Bengaluru North taluk to file a report on alleged encroachment of 47 acres of government land in Navaratna Agrahara by Dinesh and his family members. Social activist SR Hiremath filed a complaint with the Governor and the Lokayukta to investigate the matter. In his report, the tehsildar confirmed that Rao had encroached on 10.09 acres of government land, 5 acres in 3rd and 5.09 acres in 13th Navaratna Agrahara. The land was jointly owned by Varalakshmi Gundu Rao, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rajesh Gundu Rao and Mahesh Gundu Rao. The family owned 47.34 hectares of land, of which 10.09 hectares were said to belong to the government. Gundu Rao denied the allegation and said that they had bought the land they owned way back in 1983. Later, the officials surveyed and took over the surplus land.
Derogatory remarks against Yogi Adityanath
In 2018, the Congress and the BJP engaged in a bitter war of words in Karnataka after KPCC working president and MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao said that “UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should be beaten with chappals (slippers). He also called Adityanath a dhong (fraudster) and urged the people of Karnataka to oust him. He made the controversial statement while addressing an event organized by the Congress at Maurya Circle in Bengaluru protesting the Unao and Kathua rape incidents. Rao argued that Adityanath was unfit to be chief minister. After being heavily criticized by BJP as well as Congress leaders, Dinesh apologized for the statement in a tweet that read:
My reaction to the Adityanath controversy was the emotional outburst in the speech on the plight of the rape victims and the complete apathy of the Adityanath government. I am sorry if this is offensive, but abuse of law in UP is a serious matter. “
Car collection
assets and properties
movable assets
- Deposits in banks: Rs. 90,76,580
- Personal Loan/Advance Issued: Rs. 1,05,00,000
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 93,72,402
real assets
- Residential buildings: Rs.6,00,00,000
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are as per financial year 2022-23. It does not include assets owned by his spouse and dependents.
Net worth
Dinesh Gundu Rao net worth was Rs. 7,04,09,815 in 2023. It does not correspond to the net worth of his wife and dependents.
Facts/Trivia
- In 1993, his father died of cancer in London and passed his political legacy to Dinesh, who was an engineer looking to go abroad. In an interview, Dinesh talked about how he decided to enter politics and said:
After my father died in 1993, his friends and supporters felt that there was a real possibility that one of his family members would enter politics in his stead. My mother Varalakshmi is a very reserved housewife, my elder brother Mahesh is a quiet, soft-spoken person and my younger brother Rajesh was still a student. It left me, most curious and articulate.”
Dinesh joined the Congress and became the working president of the Youth Congress in 1994. However, it was Dinesh’s mother, Varalakshmi, who was first allotted a ticket by the Congress in the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency in 1996. He lost the election by about 20,000 votes to Minister Kumir Avant. Talking about the same in an interview, Dinesh said:
The party announced my mother’s name both times, without asking. The first time the situation passed him by and he faced it almost reluctantly. The next time he was adequately prepared and directly said no.”
- His father, R. Gundu Rao once said that he was a “chicken-eating Brahmin”. The comment was heavily criticized in Karnataka, a state dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaligas, after which his caste started working against him.
- In 2019, BJP leader and Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde and Dinesh Rao engaged in a spat on Twitter. Addressing a gathering in Kodagu, Karnataka, Hegde said:
“We need to review the priorities of our society. We should not think about caste. If he touched a Hindu girl, then that hand should not exist.”
Dinesh posted a tweet based on Hegde’s statement which read:
What are your achievements since becoming a Union Minister or MP? What is your contribution to the development of Karnataka? I can say for sure that it is a pity that such people became ministers and managed to be elected as MPs.
Hit by Rao, Hegde said:
I will definitely answer this guy’s questions from “@dineshgrao, before he can reveal himself, who is he with his accomplishments? I only know him as a boy who was running after a Muslim lady.
The controversial remark angered Dinesh and also his wife Tabu, who slammed Hegde for the remark.
Categories: Politics
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
