CHENNAI Tamil Nadu Congress Committee working president and Congress MP from Kanyakumari H Vasanthakumar died of Covid-19 on Friday evening while undergoing treatment in Chennai’s Apollo Hospitals. He was 70.
"It is with profound grief that we announce the sad demise of H Vasanthakumar at at 6.56 PM today," a medical bulletin issued by Apollo Hospitals medical director Dr R K Venkatasalam said.
Vasanthakumar was admitted to hospital on August 10. Later, his condition became critical. "He was treated in the critical care unit by a team of doctors for severe Covid pneumonia.Despite all active medical measures, his condition deteriorated gradually due to Covid complication, and he passed away today," it said.
He is survived by his wife, who is also undergoing treatment for Covid-19, and son Vijay Vasanth who is an actor.
Younger brother of former TNCC president Kumari Ananthan, Vasanthakumar’s first focus was business. Starting from scratch in 1978, he established Vasanth & Co as Tamil Nadu’s largest retail chain selling consumer durables. The chain now has over 80 branches, predominantly in Tamil Nadu, besides Kerala and Karnataka.
Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is his niece.
Born on April 14, 1950 at Agatheeswaram in Kanyakumari district, Vasanthakumar was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly from Nanguneri assembly segment for the first time in 2006 when Congress was part of DMK alliance. He lost in the 2011 assembly elections.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when DMK deserted Congress in the state, the national party was forced to contest alone. Contesting from Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency, Vasanthakumar lost to BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan, who went on to become a Union minister.
In the 2016 assembly elections, when Congress was back in the DMK alliance, Vasanthakumar got elected from Nanguneri to the assembly for the second time. He resigned his assembly seat to successfully contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kanyakumari and defeated Pon Radhakrishnan.
"It is with profound grief that we announce the sad demise of H Vasanthakumar at at 6.56 PM today," a medical bulletin issued by Apollo Hospitals medical director Dr R K Venkatasalam said.
Vasanthakumar was admitted to hospital on August 10. Later, his condition became critical. "He was treated in the critical care unit by a team of doctors for severe Covid pneumonia.Despite all active medical measures, his condition deteriorated gradually due to Covid complication, and he passed away today," it said.
He is survived by his wife, who is also undergoing treatment for Covid-19, and son Vijay Vasanth who is an actor.
Younger brother of former TNCC president Kumari Ananthan, Vasanthakumar’s first focus was business. Starting from scratch in 1978, he established Vasanth & Co as Tamil Nadu’s largest retail chain selling consumer durables. The chain now has over 80 branches, predominantly in Tamil Nadu, besides Kerala and Karnataka.
Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is his niece.
Born on April 14, 1950 at Agatheeswaram in Kanyakumari district, Vasanthakumar was elected to the Tamil Nadu assembly from Nanguneri assembly segment for the first time in 2006 when Congress was part of DMK alliance. He lost in the 2011 assembly elections.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when DMK deserted Congress in the state, the national party was forced to contest alone. Contesting from Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency, Vasanthakumar lost to BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan, who went on to become a Union minister.
In the 2016 assembly elections, when Congress was back in the DMK alliance, Vasanthakumar got elected from Nanguneri to the assembly for the second time. He resigned his assembly seat to successfully contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kanyakumari and defeated Pon Radhakrishnan.
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