From October 1999 to May 2004, SM Krishna was the chief minister of Karnataka. In 2004, he was elected governor of Maharashtra.
At the age of 92, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, popularly known as SM Krishna, the former chief minister of Karnataka, died early on Tuesday morning.
According to the report
“SM Krishna is no more. He breathed his last at 2:45 am at his residence. Mortal remains are likely to be taken to Maddur today,”.
His two children, Malavika and Shambhavi Krishna, as well as his wife, Prema Krishna, survive him.
Childhood and Schooling
SM Krishna, the son of SC Mallaiah, was born on May 1, 1932, in Somanahalli hamlet in Mandya’s Maddur taluk in Karnataka. He attended Maharaja’s College in Mysore for his early education before graduating from Government Law College in Bengaluru with a law degree.
Later, he studied at George Washington University in the United States and Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
After returning to India, Krishna was employed at Bengaluru’s Renukacharya Law College as a professor of international law. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1962, marking the beginning of his political career.
Political Career
In 1968, SM Krishna became a member of the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament. He was re-elected to the fifth Lok Sabha, but in 1972 he turned his attention to state politics, holding the position of Minister of Commerce, Industries, and Parliamentary Affairs for Karnataka until 1977.
Krishna rejoined the Lok Sabha in 1980 and went on to become Minister of State for Finance (1984–85) and Industry (1983–84). He served as Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1992. 1996 saw his election to the Rajya Sabha, where he remained till 1999.
Additionally, Krishna represented India abroad by attending the Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar in 1990 and sitting on a United Nations trip in 1982.
From October 1999 to May 2004, Krishna was the Chief Minister of Karnataka. In 2004, he was elected Governor of Maharashtra. He served as India’s External Affairs Minister from 2009 to 2012 while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s UPA government was in power.
In 2017, after decades with the Congress Party, Krishna switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that the Congress was in a “state of confusion.” Months before the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023, he announced his retirement from active politics.
“Brand Bengaluru” is the legacy
The most memorable aspects of Krishna’s life are his vision for “Brand Bengaluru” and his time as chief minister of Karnataka.
He put regulations in place that encouraged growth and innovation because he saw the potential of the IT industry. In 1999, his government formed the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), which comprised prominent figures from the business such as Azim Premji from Wipro and Nandan Nilekani from Infosys. The goal of this project was to draft a strategy plan for Bengaluru’s growth as a center for IT.
Bengaluru became a viable alternative to Silicon Valley, California, under his direction. His administration prioritized public-private partnerships, IT company process simplification, and infrastructure improvement. This proactive strategy established Bengaluru as a global center for innovation and technology while also creating a large number of jobs.
In a letter to then-Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in 2022, Krishna urged action to protect “Brand Bengaluru” and recommended reviving the Bangalore Agenda Task Force to draft a development plan for the city.
