Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Karnataka leader Ashok Gasti passed away in Bengaluru on Thursday. He was admitted to Manipal Hospital after he tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19).

The BJP leader had taken oath as a Rajya Sabha MP on July 22 this year.

Ashok Gasti was admitted on September 2 to Manipal Hospital in Benagluru on September 2 after he tested positive for Covid-19. People familiar with the developments said that the lawmaker was suffering from breathing problems for the last few days and was placed on ventilator support. The lawmaker was also suffering from other comorbidities.

He also served as the chairman of Karnataka Backward Classes commission in 2012.

A lawyer by profession, Gasti is credited for organizing the BJP in Raichur district of Karnataka. A member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he rose through the ranks as an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He joined BJP when he was 18-years-old and headed the Yuva Morcha of Karnataka BJP as its president.