BN Vijayakumar dies of heart attack
Karnataka BJP leader BN Vijayakumar dies of heart attackANI

In a major setback to the BJP before the 2018 elections, Karnataka party leader BN Vijayakumar died in the early hours Friday, May 4. He was 59.

Vijayakumar suffered a massive cardiac arrest and collapsed during a campaign in the Pattabhiramanagar area in Jayanagar Thursday night and was admitted to Jayadeva Institute of Cardiac Sciences and Research Centre in the city. 

His death was confirmed by the BJP, which also said that it was a great loss to the party. Vijayakumar's last rights will be performed Friday evening, reported ANI. 

The 59-year-old was a well-known face in the state and a two time MLA from Jayanagar. He was set to contest the 2018 polls, scheduled for May 12, from the same seat against Karnataka home minister R Ramalinga Reddy's daughter Soumya Reddy.

Vijayakumar had been campaigning for the polls in the last few days and had recently said that he was thinking about lodging a police complaint against Ramalinga Reddy for intimidating his supporters. He had said that his supporters were being asked to vote for Congress or face consequences, reported Deccan Chronicle.

He had explained that he had always believed in fair elections, but other parties were physically threatening his supporters. He had explained that this was shameful and he would discuss the issue with the Election Commission and Chief Election Officer.

Born in 1958, he was a product of HAL School and RV High School in Bengaluru. He held a BE Civil Engineering degree from the BMS College of Engineering and joined the BJP in 1990.

He was the general secretary of Bangalore City BJP for almost 12 years and was also president of BJP for the Bangalore city unit.

Condolences for Vijayakumar have been pouring in from all quarters and his contemporaries remember him as a humble and good person. 

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