Sixty-six-year-old senior Congress leader and Kerala Assembly speaker G Karthikeyan passed away in a Bengaluru cancer hospital on Saturday. He was undergoing treatment for liver cancer at HCG cancer centre and died due to multi-organ failure. According to Dinesh Madhavan, HCG Cancer Centre Director (Healthcare Services), Karthikeyan's condition deteriorated due to mulit-organ failure and he passed away at 10.30 am on Saturday. Karthikeyan is survived by his wife and two sons.
He was suffering from Hepato Cellular Cancer (liver cancer) with chronic liver disease and was admitted to HCG Cancer Centre for specialised treatment, Madhavan said. Karthikeyan was being treated by a multi-disciplinary expert team headed by Dr PS Sridhar, he said, adding, "His liver functions deteriorated for which he was on advanced liver support system."
Karthikeyan was taken to the US for treatment last year after which he was shifted to the hospital in Bengaluru. Known for his clean image and easy accessibility, Karthikeyan began his political career as an activist of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of Congress. He later served as the State president of the Union. He held the portfolios of Electricity and Food and Civil Supplies in the two Ministries of the AK Antony in 1995 and 2001 respectively.
A six-time MlA, he represented Thiruvananthapuram North, Aryanad and Aruvikkara constituencies. A former AICC member, he also served as general secretary and vice-president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Karthikeyan represented Aruvikkara constituency in the present Assembly after winning in 2011 Assembly elections. He had courted controversy just after the 2014 lok Sabha polls when he expressed a desire to step down as Speaker and return to active politics. This was not accepted by the party high command which asked him to continue as Speaker.
After his return from the US, he did not attend the last Assembly session in December. Karthikeyan had attended the opening ceremony of the 35th National Games in the State capital on January 31 after which he fell ill again and was shifted to Bengaluru for advanced treatment. Senior Congress leader and former Defence Minister AK Antony said Karthikeyan's demise was a big loss for the party and Kerala. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he was "deeply saddened" and "pained" with the Speaker's demise, while KPCC chief VM Sudheeran said he had lost one of his long-time friends and it was an "unbearable loss".
Veteran CPI(M) leader VS Achuthanandan described Karthikeyan's early demise as an "irreparable loss" to the entire State. A known confidante of late Chief Minister K Karunakaran, he stood behind him in his crisis period in 1978 when leaders like AK Antony, Oommen Chandy and VM Sudheeran left the party. But a few years later, Karthikeyan also parted company with Karunakaran and, with Chennithala formed what was known as the third faction in the Congress party.
He fell ill in the middle of last year as was later diagnosed with liver cancer of the liver. last October he sought expert treatment at Mayo Clinic in the US. After his return, he maintained a low profile and did not attend the last session of the Assembly in December. In January, his condition improved and he was seen at a few functions in his home constituency located on the outskirts of the capital city. His condition deteriorated last month and he was shifted to a hospital in Bengaluru, where he was battling for his life for the past few days. His body has been shifted to Thiruvananthapuram.