A. Ganeshamoorthy
Credit: india.gov.in
Chennai: Erode MP A Ganeshamurthi, a long-time associate of MDMK chief Vaiko, passed away at a private hospital in Coimbatore on Thursday, days after he allegedly attempted suicide.
Ganeshamurthi, a three-time MP who was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 2009, was 76. The MP, who won from Erode Lok Sabha seat in 2019 on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol, consumed pesticide on March 24 following which he was rushed to the hospital, where his condition was critical.
According to the hospital, Ganeshamurthi suffered a heart attack early Thursday and succumbed to it at 5.05 am. Before he was rushed to the hospital, he had told his son that he had mixed pesticide with water and that was the reason for his “illness.”
Ganeshamurthi was upset over the fact that he was denied a ticket to contest the April 19 Lok Sabha polls after the lone seat the party got from the DMK was given to Vaiko’s son Durai. However, the police, which is enquiring into the death, has not made any statement on the reason why the MP took such an extreme step.
The departed leader was also jailed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) by the then AIADMK government in 2002 along with Vaiko. Chief Minister M K Stalin and other political leaders condoled Ganeshamurthi’s death, while Vaiko rushed to Erode to pay respects to his colleague.
Vaiko said it would be wrong to say that Ganeshamurthi attempted suicide after he was denied a ticket. “I spoke to him after the party, through voting, chose Durai Vaiko as the candidate for the Tiruchirapalli seat. I was thinking of getting him a MLA seat in 2026 or a better position than that. There is no connection between the denial of seat and his decision,” Vaiko claimed.