Cmrseowork at 16:33, 19 April 2026

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{{Short description|Indian activist and politician (1925–2026)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bheemanna Khandre
| image = Bheemanna Khandre.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|11|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bhalki]], Hyderabad State, India (now Karnataka, India)
| death_date = {{death date and age|2026|1|16|1925|11|1|df=y}}
| death_place = Bhalki, Karnataka, India
| citizenship = Indian
| office = Minister of Transport, [[Government of Karnataka]]
| term_start = 1992
| term_end = 1994
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party = [[Indian National Congress]]
| spouse =
| children = 8, including: {{plainlist|
*[[Vijaykumar Khandre]],
*[[Eshwara Khandre]]
}}
| relatives = [[Sagar Khandre]] (grandson)
| website =
}}

'''Bheemanna Khandre''' (1 November 1925 – 16 January 2026) was an Indian independence activist, educationist and politician.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Veteran Congress leader Bhimanna Khandre passes away at 103 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2026/Jan/17/veteran-congress-leader-bhimanna-khandre-passes-away-at-103 |work=The New Indian Express |date=17 January 2026 |access-date=19 January 2026}}</ref> A member of the [[Indian National Congress]] party, he was the Minister of Transport in the [[Government of Karnataka]] from 1992 to 1994. Khandre was elected to the [[Karnataka Legislative Assembly]], including the erstwhile [[Mysore State|Mysore Legislative Assembly]], for four terms.

==Background==
Khandre was born on 1 November 1925 in [[Bhalki]], [[Hyderabad State]] (present-day [[Karnataka]], India). He held a [[Bachelor of Laws|BA LLB]] degree. Khandre married Lakshmi Bai, with whom he had three sons, including politicians [[Vijaykumar Khandre]] and [[Eshwara Khandre]]; and five daughters.<ref name="KLC_Profile">{{cite web |title=Sri Bheemanna Khandre |url=https://kla.kar.nic.in/council/members/EXMEMBERS/BheemannaKhandre.htm |website=Karnataka Legislative Council |access-date=7 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-minister's sons get bail in murder case |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/ex-ministers-sons-get-bail-in-murder-case/articleshow/14097822.cms |work=The Times of India |date=25 June 2002 |access-date=7 August 2024}}</ref> [[Sagar Khandre]], the [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]] from [[Bidar Lok Sabha constituency]], is his grandson.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Prabhu |first1=Nagesh |date=22 March 2024 |title=Lok Sabha election: Spotlight on candidates whose grandfathers have made a big mark in politics |url=https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha/lok-sabha-election-spotlight-on-candidates-whose-grandfathers-have-made-a-big-mark-in-politics/article67980439.ece |work=The Hindu |access-date=10 November 2024}}</ref>

Khandre died from respiratory failure on 16 January 2026 in Bhalki, at the age of 100.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Veteran Congress leader Bheemanna Khandre passes away |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/veteran-congress-leader-bheemanna-khandre-passes-away/article70516345.ece |work=The Hindu |date=16 January 2026 |access-date=17 January 2026}}</ref> He was undergoing treatment in a hospital in [[Bidar]] for a few weeks prior to his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former minister and freedom fighter Bheemanna Khandre dies at 102 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/former-minister-and-freedom-fighter-bheemanna-khandre-dies-at-102/article70517867.ece |work=BusinessLine |agency=PTI |date=17 January 2026 |access-date=17 January 2026}}</ref>

==Political career==
Khandre was elected as a President of Bhalki Taluk Municipal Council in 1953. He was elected to the [[Karnataka Legislative Assembly]] from the [[Bhalki (Vidhana Sabha constituency)|Bhalki constituency]] for four terms, 1962, 1967, 1978 and 1983. In 1968, Khandre was made the president of the Bidar District Congress Committee.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/>

Appointed the general secretary of [[Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee]] and the convernor of State Kisan Cell of Karnataka in the year 1980, he participated in the [[All India Kisan Sabha|All India Kisan Rally]] held at New Delhi on 16 February 1981 along with 16,000 farmers from the state.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/>

In 1988, Khandre he was elected as a member of the Legislative Council of Karnataka from [[Bidar District]], a feat which he repeated in 1994 to 2000.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/>

He served as the Minister of Transport in Government of Karnataka from 1992 to 1994 and was the leader of the Upper House of Karnataka.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/>

==Other ventures==
Khandre was the president of Shanti Vardhak Education Society from 1963 to 1993.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/><ref name="RECBalkhi"/>

Founder of two sugar factories under co-operative sector in Karnataka, he was the chairman of Bidar Sahakara Sakkare Karkhane for 12 years, Mahatma Gandhi Sahakara Sakkare Karkhane Ltd. and was the executive member of National Federation of Co-operative Sugar Factory.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/><ref name="RECBalkhi"/> He was also executive member of Indian Sugar Export Corporation, New Delhi.<ref name="KLC_Profile"/>

Khandre was also the President of Akhil Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha, an organisation for the development of the [[Lingayat]] community.<ref name="RECBalkhi"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Will Bhimanna toe Cong or Veerashaiva line? |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2009/Apr/19/will-bhimanna-toe-cong-or-veerashaiva-line-42317.html |access-date=7 August 2024 |work=The New Indian Express |date=15 May 2012 |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
Khandre was awarded the "Suvarna Karnataka Rajyotsava Award" by the Government of Karnataka. [[Gulbarga University]] also conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) on him.<ref name="RECBalkhi">{{cite web |title=About Founders |url=https://recbhalki.org/founders.php |website=Bheemanna Khandre Institute of Technology, Bhalki |access-date=7 August 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khandre, Bheemanna}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2026 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Mysore MLAs 1962–1967]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1978–1983]]
[[Category:Karnataka MLAs 1983–1985]]
[[Category:People from Bidar district]]
[[Category:State cabinet ministers of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Indian men centenarians]]

Bheemanna Khandre - Revision history

Cmrseowork at 16:33, 19 April 2026