Venur Dhananjay Kumar Alva (4 July 1951 – 4 March 2019) was a former Union and Cabinet minister of India and a former Member of Parliament from Mangalore.

He was also one of the first few BJP MPs to be elected from south India, at a time when the Congress party's reach was at its peak.

[3] Born in Venur, a small town of erstwhile South Canara in 1951, Kumar earned degrees in science from Sri Mahaveera College, Moodabidri and law from Udupi Law College and held a number of influential positions in a political career that spanned decades.

A firm believer of the RSS' Hindutva ideology, Kumar began his political career in the youth wing of Bharatiya Janta Party and later went on to become a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1983.

Kumar died at Unity Hospital in Mangalore on 4 March 2019 after a prolonged illness due to kidney problem.