Congress MLA M Varadan passes away in Tamil Nadu

amil Nadu Assembly draws to a close, one more MLA, Polur M Varadan of Congress party, died here this morning after a brief illness.

Varadan, who twice got elected to the state assembly from Chengam (Reserved) constituency in 1991 and 2006, was undergoing treatment in a private hospital and died this morning, party sources said.

He was 59. He is survived by his wife and a daughter. A senior leader, Varadan was General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

Varadan was the third Congress legislator to die before completing the full term in the recent past. The party had lost its floor leader D Sudarsanam in June and S Jayapaul in July last year.

With the death Mr Varadan, the strength of the Congress in the state assembly has come down to 33.