Dinesh Gundu Rao is an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress. Between 1999 and 2023, he was elected as Member of Parliament from Gandhi Nagar, the Karnataka Assembly constituency, for six consecutive times. In 2020, he served as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief for Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. Previously, he served as a minister in the Indian Parliament. Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (May 20, 2015 to June 21, 2016) and Karnataka Presidential State Congress Committee (July 4, 2018 to March 11, 2020).
Wiki/Biography
Dinesh Gundu Rao was born on Thursday, October 9, 1969, in Kushara Nagar, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India (age 55; as of 2024). His zodiac sign is Libra. He studied at Bishop Cotton Boys School in Bangalore. He received his bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore in 1992.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′11″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family and caste
Dinesh Gundu Rao belonged to a Kannada Brahmin family.
Parents and siblings
His father R. Gundu Rao (late) served as Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1980 to 1983. He died of cancer on 22 August 1993 in London.
Dinesh Gundu Rao and his father R. Gundu Rao
His mother’s name was Varalakshmi Gundu Rao (late), who was also a politician and entered politics after the death of her husband in 1996. In 1996, she contested the Bangalore South Lok Sabha elections but lost to the BJP candidate Ananth Kumar. She passed away in 2021 due to COVID-19 related illnesses.
Varalakshmi Rao, mother of Dinesh Gundu Rao
He was the second of his parents’ three sons. His brother Rajesh Gundu Rao, an actor, died of cerebral hemorrhage in 2012. He is associated with the Janata Dal (Secular) and broke away from the party after being rejected for the JD(S) youth wing president’s post. His brother Mahesh Gundu Rao is also a politician associated with the BJP.
Rajesh Gundu Rao, younger brother of Dinesh Gundu Rao
wife and children
On December 16, 1994, he married Tabassum Rao, also known as Tabu Dinesh Rao, whom he met through a mutual friend in college. Tabassum comes from a Muslim family. Neither of them is married. Everyone follows their respective religions and participates in each other’s celebrations. Tabu said in an interview,
Yes, exactly. I am diverse. I attend Hindu pujas and rituals at home and attend all Hindu festivals. Likewise, my husband also celebrates Eid. “
He has two daughters: Ananya Rao and Ameera Rao.
Dinesh Gundu Rao with wife Tabu Dinesh Rao and daughter Ananya Rao
Dinesh Gundu Rao and his daughters
Religion/Religious Views
He believes in Hinduism.
Signature/Autograph
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s signature
Profession
In 1994, he became the working chairman of the Youth Congress. However, Dinesh quit after just a few months, realizing that the massive backlash he faced as a newcomer was entirely justified. As a result, he was appointed general secretary. Before 1999, he had been working at the grassroots level of the party.
Dinesh Gundu Rao with other Congress leaders during political campaign
In 1999, he contested the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections from Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency and won the seat by defeating independent candidate V. Nagaraj by 1,115 votes. In 2004, Gundu Rao defeated JD(S) candidate Nagaraj by a margin of 28,268 votes and won the seat in 2008 defeating BJP candidate PC Mohan by a margin of 6,966 votes. In 2013, he was successful again, defeating the BJP candidate PC Mohan by 22,607 votes. From May 20, 2015 to June 21, 2016, he served as Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Government of Siddaramaiah. In 2016, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made major changes to the Karnataka cabinet, in which 14 ministers, including Gundu Rao, were axed to reshape his image. In 2018, Rao was re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar. On July 4, 2018, Rao was appointed president of the Karnataka Congress Committee; he held the position till March 11, 2020.
Inauguration ceremony of Dinesh Gundu Rao as Chairman of KPCC in 2018
On September 11, 2020, he became the chief of AICC for Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. In 2023, he retained the Gandhi Nagar seat by defeating his BJP rival Sapthagiri Gowda by just 105 votes.
dispute
Alleged land encroachment in Bengaluru North Taluk
In 2014, the Lokayukta police directed the Tehsildar of Bengaluru North Taluka to file a report accusing Dinesh and his family of encroaching on 47 acres of government land at Navaratna Agrahara near Devanahalli in Bengaluru North Taluka (Yelahanka). Social activist SR Hiremath has lodged a complaint with the Governor and Lokayukta seeking an inquiry into the matter. The Tehsildar confirmed in the report that Rao had encroached on 10.09 acres of government land in Navaratna Agrahara, 5 acres in Survey No. 3 and 5.09 acres in Survey No. 13. The land is jointly owned by Varalakshmi Gundu Rao, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rajesh Gundu Rao and Mahesh Gundu Rao. The family owns 47.34 acres of land, of which 10.09 acres is said to belong to the government. Gundu Rao denied the allegations, saying the land they owned was purchased in 1983. Later, officials conducted surveys and reclaimed the excess 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 MP Dinesh Gundu Rao said “the North must be beaten with a slipper” State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath”. He also called Adityanath a dhongi (fraud) and urged the people of Karnataka to oust him. He made the controversial statement while addressing an event organized by the Congress in Bengaluru’s Peacock Circle to protest against the Unnao and Kathua rape incidents. Rao alleged that Adityanath was unfit to be the chief minister. After coming under fire from leaders of the BJP and Congress, Dinesh apologized for the statement via a tweet, which read:
My reaction to the Adityanath controversy was the outburst of emotion during a speech on the plight of rape victims and the complete indifference of the Adityanath government. I’m sorry if this offends me, but abuse of laws is a serious problem in UP. “
Controversial statement against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
While attending a rally in October 2024, Gundu claimed that he eats beef while talking about Savarkar and promoted beef consumption to the public. He also alleged that Savarkar openly supported cow slaughter. He said,
Savarkar was a Brahmin, but he ate beef and was not a vegetarian. He was not opposed to cow slaughter; in fact, he was quite a modernist on the subject. “
Following this, the BJP spoke out against him and criticized Gundu.
car collection
Assets and property
movable property
- Bank Deposit: Rs. 90,76,580
- Personal Loan/Advance: Rs. 1,05,00,000
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 93,72,402
real estate
- Residential Building: Rs 6,00,00,000
Note: Movable and immovable property estimates given are based on financial year 2022-23. This does not include assets owned by his wife and dependents.
net worth
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s net worth is Rs. 7,04,09,815 in 2023. This does not include his wife and dependents’ net worth.
Facts/Trivia
- His father died of cancer in London in 1993, passing his legacy to Dinesh, an engineer who wanted to go abroad. In an interview, Dinesh spoke about how he decided to enter politics, saying:
After my father died in 1993, his friends and supporters felt that there was certainly a good chance that his family would take his place in politics. My mother Varalakshmi is a very conservative housewife, my brother Mahesh is a quiet, soft-spoken person, and my brother Rajesh is a student. This makes me the most outgoing and expressive person of the group. “
Dinesh joined the Congress in 1994 and became the working president of the Youth Congress. However, Dinesh’s mother Varalakshmi was first allocated a ticket by the Congress to contest from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency in 1996. She lost the election by about 20,000 votes. Vote for Civil Aviation Minister Anant Kumar. Talking about the same in an interview, Dinesh said,
Both times the party simply announced my mother’s name without asking her. That’s when it happened to her in the first round and she entered the match almost reluctantly. The next time, she was fully prepared and refused outright. “
- His father, R. Gundu Rao, once declared that he was a “chicken-eating Brahmin”. The remarks were heavily criticized in Karnataka, a state ruled by the Lingayats and Vokaligas, after which his caste turned against him.
- In 2019, BJP leader and Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde and Dinesh Rao got into a Twitter spat. Addressing a rally in Kodagu, Karnataka, Hegde said,
“We have to rethink our priorities as a society. We should not think about caste. If a Hindu girl is touched by a hand, then that hand should not be there.”
Dinesh posted a tweet quoting Hegde’s statement, writing:
What have you achieved as a federal minister or MP? What contribution have you made to the development of Karnataka? All I can say for certain is that it is pathetic that these people become ministers and get elected to parliament. “
Hegde hit back at Rao saying:
I will definitely answer the question of this guy “@dineshgrao, before that please tell me who he is and what he has accomplished? All I know is that he is a guy who runs behind a Muslim lady.”
The controversial remarks angered Dinesh and his wife Tabu, who severely criticized Hegde’s remarks.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education