Sri B. B.Shivappa

B.B.Shivappa was born on September 27, 1929, in Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu district. His political career began with his initial association with the Congress of K Kamaraj and Morarji Desai, before joining the Janata Party Shivappa later became part of the BJP and led it from the front.

He was the second state president of the BJP party after A K Subbaiah in 1983. In 1984, Shivappa was elected to the legislative council as MLC from the legislative assembly and continued to be a member of the House till 1990. The BJP veteran later went on to contest elections from Sakleshpur and was elected in 1994 for the first time. He was re-elected in 1999 and continued to be a member till 2004.

Shivappa, 88, was known to be a mentor to several senior leaders of the state BJP unit and one of the founders of the party in Karnataka. He is credited with having built the party in the 1980s before the rise of incumbent party president BS Yeddyurappa, when the BJP was still in its nascent stage in the state.