Dinesh Gundu Rao Age, Caste, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 180 cm in meters- 1.80 m in feet & inches- 5’ 11”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Indian National Congress (INC) (1994 - Present)
Political Journey	• Joined INC in 1994 • Became the working president of the Youth Congress in 1994 for a while before he was later made the general secretary instead • Elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 1999 • Re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2004 • Re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2008 • Re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2013 • Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs in the Siddaramaiah government from 20 May 2015 to 21 June 2016 • Axed from the Karnataka cabinet in 2016 • Re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2018 • President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (4 July 2018 – 11 March 2020) • Became Incharge of AICC for Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu on 11 September 2020 • Re-elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar in 2023
Personal Life
Date of Birth	9 October 1969 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2024)	55 Years
Birthplace	Kushalanagar, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India
Zodiac sign	Libra
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Kushalanagar, Karnataka, India
School	Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in Bangalore, Karnataka
College/University	B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bengaluru
Educational Qualification	Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications (1992) [1]My Neta
Religion	Hinduism [2]The Week
Caste	Brahmin [3]Bangalore Mirror
Controversies	• Land Encroachment Case: In 2014, Rao made headlines in a land encroachment case wherein he and his family members were accused of illegally purchasing 47 acres of government land in Navaratna Agrahara near Devanahalli Bengaluru North taluka (Yelahanka). On the complaint of Social activist SR Hiremath, Lokayukta police directed the Tehsildar of the Bengaluru North taluk to submit a report on the alleged encroachment. The land was jointly owned by Varalakshmi Gundu Rao, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rajesh Gundu Rao, and Mahesh Gundu Rao. In total, the Rao family owned 47.34 acres of land, out of which 10.09 acres were said to belong to the government.  In his report, the Tehsildar confirmed that Rao had encroached upon 10.09 acres of government land, out of which 5 acres were in Survey No. 3 and 5.09 acres were in Survey No. 13 in Navaratna Agrahara. Gundu Rao in his defence said that land was bought by his family way back in 1983. Later, the officials surveyed and took back the excess land. [4]The Economic Times • Derogatory Remarks Against Yogi Adityanath: In 2018, Dinesh Gundu Rao made a controversial remark against Yogi Adityanath at an event organised by the Congress at Maurya Circle in Bengaluru to protest against Unnao and Kathua rape incidents. [5]India Today Rao said: “UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath must be beaten with chappals (slippers).” Rao claimed Adityanath was unfit to be a chief minister. He also called Adityanath a dhongi (fraud) and urged the people of Karnataka to chase him away. Thereafter, Karnataka BJP and Congress engaged in a bitter war of words. Later, Dinesh apologised for the statement via a tweet which read, "My reaction to Adityanath controversy, it was an emotional outburst in a speech on the plight of the raped victim’s and the complete apathy by Adityanath government. I regret if it’s offensive but the abuse of law in UP is a serious issue.” • Criticised For His Remarks Against Savarkar: He hit the headlines in October 2024 after he, during a public event, talked about Savarkar and claimed that he himself consumed beef and was not against slaughtering cows. He also claimed that Savarkar publicly talked about this. He said, "Savarkar was a Brahmin, but he ate beef and was a non-vegetarian. He did not oppose cow slaughter; in fact, he was quite a modernist on that topic." His remarks were later criticised by the BJP. [6]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	16 December 1994
Family
Wife/Spouse	Tabassum Rao (also referred to as Tabu Dinesh Rao)
Children	Son- None Daughter(s)- Ananya Rao, Ameera Rao
Parents	Father- R. Gundu Rao (deceased) (politician) Mother- Varalakshmi Gundu Rao (deceased) (politician)
Siblings	Brother(s)- Rajesh Gundu Rao (actor), Mahesh Gundu Rao (politician) Sister- None
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Toyota • BMW
Money Factor
Assets/Properties	Moveable Assets • Cash: Rs. 6,87,573 • Deposits in Banks: Rs. 90,76,580 • Personal loans/advance given: Rs. 1,05,00,000 • Motor Vehicles: Rs. 93,72,402 • Jewellery: Rs. 29,87,500 Immoveable Assets • Residential Buildings: Rs 6,00,00,000 Note: The given estimates of moveable and immovable assets are according to the financial year 2022-23. It does not include the assets owned by his wife and dependents. [7]My Neta
Net Worth (as of 2023)	Rs. 7,04,09,815 [8]My Neta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dinesh Gundu Rao

• Dinesh Gundu Rao is an Indian politician who was elected as MLA from Gandhi Nagar, Karnataka Assembly constituency six times in a row between 1999 to 2023. He became the incharge of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for Goa, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu in 2020. He has served as Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (2015 – 2016) and President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (2018 – 2020).

• Dinesh’s father, R. Gundu Rao, served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka state from 1980 to 1983. R. Gundu Rao once famously declared that he was a “chicken-eating Brahmin.” The practice was frowned upon by Hindus in Karnataka, a state dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaligas. R. Gundu Rao died after battling cancer in London on 22 August 1993, ^[9]Rediff passing on his political legacy to Dinesh. At that time, Dinesh had completed his engineering and was aspiring to go abroad to work. In an interview, Dinesh talked about how he decided to enter politics and said,
  

  After my father died in 1993, his friends and supporters felt that there was definitely great scope for one of his family to enter politics in his place. My mother Varalakshmi is a very reserved housewife, my elder brother Mahesh is a quiet, soft-spoken person and my younger brother Rajesh was still a student. That left me, the most outgoing and articulate of the lot.”

• However, Dinesh’s mother, Varalakshmi, too had to venture into politics as she was allotted a ticket by Congress to contest the Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency in 1996.  She lost the elections to Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar by 20,000 votes (approx.). Dinesh recalled the same in an interview and said,
  

  The party just announced my mother’s name both times, without asking her. The first time round, the situation overtook her and she contested almost reluctantly. The next time, she was adequately prepared and said a straight no.”

• Varalakshmi died due to COVID-related illness in 2021.

• In 1994, Dinesh started his political journey as the working president of the Youth Congress, a position he held for barely a few months. Apparently, Dinesh stepped down from the position after realising that the sizeable opposition he was facing was justified since he was a newcomer. Therefore, he accepted the position of general secretary. Thereafter, he worked at the grassroots level for INC until 1999.
  

  Dinesh Gundu Rao during a political campaign

• In 1994, he got married to Tabassum Rao, a girl whom he had met through mutual friends in college. Although Tabassum hailed from a Muslim family, neither of them changed their religion to get married. In an interview, Tabu shared that both she and her husband followed their respective religions, meanwhile taking part in each other’s festivities. She said,
  

  Yes, totally true. I am pluralistic. I take part in Hindu pujas and rituals at home and participate in all Hindu festivals. Similarly, my husband celebrates Eid.”

• Dinesh is the second of the three sons of his parents. His brother Rajesh Gundu Rao was an actor, who appeared in two Kannada films Hoovu Hannu (1993) and Samara (1995) under the screen name Ajay.  Later, Rajesh was associated with Janata Dal (Secular) party. He broke ties with the party after he was denied the post of president of the JD(S) youth wing. He was planning to make a comeback in the Kannada film industry after a two-decade-long hiatus when he died due to a brain haemorrhage in 2012. Dinesh’s brother Mahesh Gundu Rao is associated with BJP. ^[10]The Times of India

• In 2019, BJP leader and Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde and Dinesh Rao engaged in a war of words on Twitter. Dinesh posted a tweet citing Hegde’s statement which he gave while addressing a gathering at Kodagu in Karnataka. In the statement, Hegde had said,
  

  “We have to rethink about priorities of our society. We shouldn’t think of caste. If a Hindu girl is touched by a hand, then that hand should not exist.”

  Dinesh, in his tweet, wrote,

  Wht are ur achievements after becoming a Union Minister or as MP? Wht are ur contributions for Karnataka’s development? All I can say for sure,it’s deplorable tht such people have become ministers & have managed to get elected as MP’s.”

  Irked over Dinesh’s tweet, Hegde hit back at Rao by making a remark about Rao’s Muslim wife. Hegde replied to Rao saying,

  I shall definitely answer this guy “@dineshgrao’s queries, before which could he please reveal himself as to who he is along with his achievements? I only know him as a guy who ran behind a Muslim lady.”

  Many slammed Hegde for the racist remark, while Rao’s wife, Tabu, claimed that she was being targeted for being Muslim. ^[11]The Week