"Sharief passed away around 12.30 p.m. at Fortis Hospital in the city centre. "He was admitted on Friday after he collapsed at home. He was ailing for sometime with age-related problems," party's state unit spokesman Ravi Gowda told IANS.
A veteran parliamentarian from Bengaluru North and Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituencies, Sharief was Union Railway Minister from 1991-1995 under the P.V. Narasimha Rao government at the Centre.