Veteran Congress leader and former Governor of Maharashtra, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Jharkhand K. Sankaranarayanan, 89, died here on Sunday night.
His health had deteriorated in the past two years and he was under treatment.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan had held several key portfolios in the United Democratic Front (UDF) Cabinets headed by K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony. He was UDF convener for 16 years from 1985 to 2001. He held several party positions from the district to the national level. He was a member of the All India Congress Committee as well as the Congress’s Parliamentary Board.
Mr. Sankaranarayanan started his political career through student politics in 1946. As a Congress member, he was elected to the fifth Kerala Legislative Assembly from Thrithala, the sixth Assembly from Sreekrishnapuram, the eighth Assembly from Ottapalam, and to the 11th Assembly from Palakkad.
Although he handled such portfolios as agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy development and community development briefly in 1977 under K. Karunakaran, Mr. Sankaranarayanan played a notable role as Finance Minister in A.K. Antony’s Cabinet from 2001 to 2004. He had also held the Excise portfolio during this period.
Condolences
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Speaker M.B. Rajesh, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, UDF convener M.M. Hassan and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala expressed grief at the death of Mr. Sankaranarayanan.
He was leading a retired life at his home here since 2015. He is survived by daughter Anupama.
His biography penned by Shajil Kumar was released during the COVID-19 crisis.
