Congress MP from Kerala dead

Chennai: Lok Sabha member M.I. Shanavas passed away at a private hospital here on Wednesday, a party leader said. He was 67.

"The party has lost a stalwart. I have lost a dear brother," said the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala.

Shanavas, a two-time parliament member, was ailing for sometime and was admitted at a hospital in the Tamil Nadu capital. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

"His body will be brought to Kochi... It will lay in state for the public to pay their last respects and the final rites will take place tomorrow," said Chennithala.

A long-time close aide of former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, Shanavas along with Chennithala and former Kerala Speaker late G. Karthikeyan parted ways with Karunakaran in the 1980s and formed their own faction.

Shanavas won the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad, which he retained in 2014. He was also the Congress Working President in Kerala.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the passing away of Shanavas.