EVKS Elangovan, senior Tamil Nadu Congress leader and Erode East MLA, passed away on Saturday due to a respiratory ailment. The former TNCC president 75.
Elangovan, who was active in Tamil Nadu's political scene for over four decades, was undergoing treatment for a heart condition and had difficulty breathing due to a lung infection. He was on ventilator support in the ICU of a private hospital in Chennai, Tamil media reports said. His condition deteriorated after developing severe pneumonia, Dina Malar said.
Elangovan, who had earlier announced retirement from Parliamentary politics, contested the bypolls from the Erode East seat following the demise of incumbent MLA Thirumagan Everaa, who was his son.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the hospital and inquired about Elangovan's health.
He was born in Erode on December 21, 1948. Elangovan, who holds a Bachelor's in Economics from the Presidency College in Chennai, was the son of EVK Sampath, a close associate of former Chief Minister CN Annadurai. While Sampath formed the Tamil Desiya Katchi after having differences with Annadurai, Elangovan's mother Sulochana Sampath was part of AIADMK.
During his illustrious career, Elangovan served as the Satyamangalam MLA between 1985 and 1988. Later, he joined actor Sivaji Ganesan's Tamil Nadu Munnetra Munnani (TNMM) and unsuccessfully contested from the Bhavani constituency in the 1989 elections.
When Sivaji merged his party with V.P. Singh's Janata Dal (United Front), Elangovan rejoined the Congress party. He contested the 1996 Lok Sabha elections from Krishnagiri constituency and lost before becoming the TNCC chief. He led the Grand Old Party in Tamil Nadu till 2001 before becoming a Lok Sabha member from Gobichettipalayam in 2004 to become the Union Minister of State for Textiles in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.