Erode MP and senior MDMK leader A Ganeshamurthi died at a private hospital in Coimbatore early this morning. A police officer confirmed to NDTV that the MDMK leader died at a hospital at around 5 am.
On Sunday, the 76-year-old leader was rushed to a hospital in critical condition in Erode and later shifted to a private hospital in Coimbatore. He was put on ECHO support.
A spokesperson of the MDMK said that doctors had forewarned about this possibility. He added “Vaiko is rushing to Coimbatore. He would arrive around 8 am.”
Police suspected a possible suicide attempt.
Ganeshamurthi, a stalwart three-time MP was elected under the DMK banner in 2019, held a prominent position within the MDMK ranks. He was one of the leaders imprisoned under POTA along with party founder Vaiko.
Recently, the MDMK and the DMK decided to field Durai, Vaiko’s son, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
On Sunday Vaiko said that the party’s core team, after a long discussion, decided to field Durai for the Lok Sabha polls. “There was even an internal poll to decide on both names. We Wanted to speak to DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin to reward Ganeshamurthi. We also had in mind a seat for him the assembly polls,” he said.