Former MLA Kovai K. Selvaraj, who had a political career in the Congress, AIADMK and DMK, died in Tirupati on Friday.
Sources close to his family said that Mr. Selvaraj suffered a cardiac arrest in Tirupati, where he had gone along with the family for his son’s wedding on Friday. Though he was rushed to a hospital, he was declared brought dead.
Selvaraj began his career in the AIADMK. He left the party in 1984 when he was not given a ticket to contest in the Assembly elections. Mr. Selvaraj then joined Congress and became the party’s MLA from the erstwhile Coimbatore West constituency in 1991. He was expelled from the party in June 2015, after he made a public appeal that the Congress should back the AIADMK in the R.K. Nagar by-election, when the then AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa contested.
Shekher first joined the BJP. He later crossed over to the AIADMK. Mr. Selvaraj later became AIADMK’s Coimbatore Urban district secretary, besides serving as one of the spokespersons of the party. When the AIADMK split into two factions after the death of Jayalalithaa, Mr. Selvaraj stood with O. Panneerselvam and raised his voice against the leadership of Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
His stint in the AIADMK ended in December 2022 when he joined the DMK, where he was promoted to the deputy secretary of the party’s media wing in April 2023.
Sources added that Mr. Selvaraj’s body would be brought to his residence in Coimbatore on Saturday.
Stalin condoles death
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin expressed shock over the death of former legislator and DMK spokesperson Kovai Selvaraj and extended his condolences.
In a statement, Mr. Stalin underlined the DMK functionary’s skills in promoting the principles of the DMK on various debating forums.
Recalling their meeting during his recent visit to Coimbatore, the CM said the DMK spokesperson said he would accompany his newly married son to visit Chennai to get his blessings.
“But, I was shocked to learn that he died while his son was getting married. My deep condolences to his family members and party functionaries,” Mr. Stalin said. (
Published - November 09, 2024 08:12 am IST
