Bangalore: Veteran politician and former Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, who left a stamp of his own in Indian politics, died at his residence in Bangalore this afternoon (Jan 12, 2004) after a prolonged illness.

Seventy-seven year old Hegde, ailing for nearly a year, suffered a stroke around midnight last night and had bleeding in his brain, his personal physician Dr Ramana Rao said.

Hegde slipped into coma and did not respond to "stimulus", Rao, who has been Hegde's physician for the last three decades, said.

Hegde underwent a brain surgery in London early last year, but did not make much recovery, keeping him out of active politics since then.

He is survived by his wife Shakuntala, a son and two daughters.

Chief Minister of Karnataka twice, Hegde had played a key role in uniting the non-Congress Opposition and had the credit of heading the first non-Congress Government in Karnataka in 1983 with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Hegde was also Minister for Commerce in the Vajpayee Government when his erstwhile party Lok Shakti was a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

He also served as deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, when V P Singh was the Prime Minister.

Beginning his chequered career as a Congressman, Hegde was a member of the Nijalingappa and Veerandra Patil ministries.

Nijalingappa being his mentor, he followed him to join the Congress (O) after the historic split and served as Opposition leader in the Legislative Council in Karnataka.

He was incarcerated during the Emergency and made significant contributions towards forming the erstwhile Janata Party, of which he was made the general secretary.

As the uninterrupted rule of Congress Government headed by late R Gundu Rao ended in 1983, the mantle of Chief Ministership fell on Hegde, a post he quit towards the end of his second term after being surrounded in a telephone tapping controversy.

Hegde had also served as Rajya Sabha member.