Chennai: Kanyakumari Congress Deputy H Vasanthakumar passed away due to COVID-19 on Friday night at the age of 70. Vasanthakumar was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on Greams Road, Chennai after contracting coronavirus.
He is survived by his wife Tamil Selvi, two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Vijay Vasanth, is a Tamil film actor who has appeared in various films since 2007.
The first member of the Tamil Nadu parliament to succumb to the coronavirus after 18 days of treatment, Vasanthakumar was born in Agastheeswaram in the Kanyakumari district in Harikrishna Nadar and Thangamma Ammal.
Coming from a family of politicians, his older brother Kumari Anandan is a veteran Congressional leader who had served as MLA and MP and his niece Tamilisai Soundarrajan is the current governor of Telangana.
He was not only a successful entrepreneur who grew up starting from scratch, but a familiar face in Tamil Nadu. His smiling, joyous face greeted people from each and every advertisement for his eponymous company, Vasanth and Co, which he launched in 1978 as an appliance showroom in Chennai. Today, it has 71 stores spread across the southern states and is a popular brand for domestic needs.
He began his career working as a salesman in the 1970s before venturing out on his own. He also decided to be the brand ambassador for his company and appeared in promotional ads for his showroom, thus becoming a familiar face.
Despite the phenomenal growth of his business, Vasanthakumar always wanted to be in politics, perhaps inspired by his older brother Kumari Anandan, and was associated with Congress. He also launched a satellite television channel called Vasanth TV in 2008.
His biggest foray into electoral politics came in 2006 when he ran for Assembly elections for the Nanguneri constituency, which is closer to his birthplace. Again, he contested from the same seat in 2016 and won, but had to resign after his victory from the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general election. He defeated his BJP rival, Pon Radhakrishnan, a locally active politician and former Union Minister, by a 2.5 lakh margin of votes. He was also Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Congress and President of TNCC Traders Cell.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Telangana, Tamilisai Soundarrajan, Prime Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Senior Deputy Minister O Paannerselvam, DMK President MK Stalin, PMK founder S Ramadoss, and MDMK Secretary General Vaiko They were among the politicians who expressed their pain and conveyed their condolences to the family. of the deceased deputy.
President Ram Nath Kovind also mourned the hidden death and said his devotion to the cause of the people in Tamil Nadu was inspiring.
“It is sad to hear the passing of Shri H Vasanthakumar, MP from Kanyakumari. An entrepreneur and social activist, he earned his name in the world of politics and business. His devotion to the cause of the people of Tamil Nadu was inspiring. Condolences to his family and friends and followers, “Kovind tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his Twitter account, said: “Saddened by the disappearance of Lok Sabha MP Shri H Vasanthakumar Ji. His progress in business and social service efforts was remarkable. During my interactions with him, I always saw his passion for Tamil Nadus Progress Condolences to his family and Om Shanti followers.
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