Puttannaiah ran for a seat on the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1994, serving Pandavapura until 1999.
Later that year, he was named president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha.
[1][2] In 2013, he ran in the Melkote constituency, representing the Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha.
[3] Puttannaiah had a heart attack on 18 February 2018 while watching Kabaddi at Visvesvaraya Stadium in Mandya.
[5][6] Puttannaiah's funeral, held on 22 February 2018 in Kyathanahalli, was attended by several thousand people.