Kerala Congress (M) supremo K M Mani passes away in Kochi

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 09: KM Mani,Veteran Kerala politician passed away at the age of 86 at a private hospital in Kochi on Tuesday. He was admitted to the hospital in the first week of April with respiratory-related illnesses.

A medical bulletin said the veteran leader had been suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) for many years and had an acute chest infection.

Mani has been a legislator of Pala assembly constituency for 50 consecutive years, since 1965. He had also served as Kerala finance minister in the UDF government.

He has been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) for several years and has frequently been hospitalised for chest infection, it said.

Kerala Congress (M) is a key ally of the Congress-led UDF in the state.

Mani, who was declared the party candidate for Kottayam seat for the April 23 Lok Sabha polls, was not seen in the election campaign due to frequent hospitalisation. His son and KC(M) leader Jose K Mani is a member of the Rajya Sabha.