of her twin sons, Chirantan and Chirayu, who were born in 1998. Later life Despite the weakening of his political stock, Hegde continued to play the role of elder statesman in the fractious Janata Parivar. He gradually moved away from active politics owing to poor health. He died in Bangalore on 12 January 2004 after prolonged illness at the age of 77. His death caused an outpouring of grief in Karnataka. A versatile personality, Hegde also acted in many dramas and films such as Marana Mrudanga, Prajashakti. He was the political mentor of a large number of politicians such as Jeevaraj Alva, Abdul Samad Siddiqui, M. P. Prakash, P. G. R. Sindhia, R. V. Deshpande, and groomed many younger politicians. In the latter part of his life he became depressed and trusted only few friends like Alva, Siddiqui and advocate Manas Ranjan, along with his partner, Prathibha Prahlad, who he confided in and spent his free time with. His wife, Shakuntala, unsuccessfully contested Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate in 2004. References 1926 births 2004 deaths Chief Ministers of Karnataka People from Uttara Kannada Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka Janata Dal politicians Members of the Cabinet of India Chief ministers from Janata Party Indian National Congress politicians Janata Dal (United) politicians Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians Chief ministers of Indian states Lok Shakti politicians Commerce and Industry Ministers of India Mysore MLAs 1957–1962 Mysore MLAs 1962–1967 Mysore MLAs 1967–1972 Karnataka MLAs 1983–1985 Karnataka MLAs 1985–1989