Kasaragod: Former Udma MLA and Congress leader KP Kunhikannan passed away at a hospital in Kannur on Thursday, September 26. He was 75. He had been undergoing treatment after breaking his ribs in a car accident on September 4, when his vehicle collided with a median on the under-construction NH 66 near a fuel station in Nileshwar, said Congress leaders in Kasaragod. He was returning to his home in Payyannur after attending a party programme in Kanhangad. 

Kunhikannan was the only Congress MLA to be elected from Kasaragod district in more than three decades. Kunhikannan was the first president of the Kasaragod District Congress Committee (DCC) after the district was formed in 1984. He became the General Secretary of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in the party.

From 1987 to 1991, he represented the Udma constituency in the eight Kerala Legislative Assembly. In 1987, he got a 51.42% vote share and defeated CPM's Purushothaman K by 7,845 votes in Udma.

The same year, Congress's N Manoharan won from the neighbouring Kanhangad assembly constituency. Since then, the Congress has never won an Assembly segment in Kasaragod.

Kunhikannan contested from Udma again in 1991 but lost to CPM's P Raghavan by 957 votes, the narrowest loss by a Congress candidate in the constituency. In 2016, Congress state president K Sudhakaran lost in Udma by 3,882 votes to CPM's K Kunhiraman.

Kunhikannan contested again in the Trikaripur assembly constituency -- a Marxist bastion -- in 2016 but lost to incumbent M Rajagopalan by 16,959 votes. Apart from the loss, the Congress vote share dipped by 3.42 percentage points in that election. It was his last election.

Despite his election defeats, the veteran Congressman is remembered as one of the tallest leaders of the party in Kasaragod. "When he was the DCC president, the Congress had two MLAs in the district. That was the golden era of the Congress in Kasaragod district," said present Congress president PK Faisal.

As DCC president, Kunhikannan led a 'Grama Yatra,' a months-long foot march that passed through all 41 grama panchayats and municipalities in the district. "The yatra revived the Congress in the district, and helped set up units in all villages. The money raised from the yatra was used to buy a 10-cent plot and an old building in Kasaragod's Vidyanagar," he said. The party's district headquarters still stands on the plot. In his later years, his influence did not wane, and the party often called him a troubleshooter.

He is survived by his wife K Suseela, daughter Tulasi, a teacher, and son Thilakan KPK, who works in the office of the Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan. Thilakan's wife Adv Veena Nair, a grassroots Congress leader and former TV anchor, was fielded in Vattiyoorkavu against CPM's sitting MLA VK Prasanth in 2021.

Cremation tomorrow
DCC presidents of Kannur and Kasaragod Martin George and Faisal said that the cremation will be held in Payyannur, his native place, on Friday.

The mortal remains of former KPCC General Secretary and ex-Kasaragod DCC President were kept at the Kannur DCC office from 10:30 am to 11:30 am for the public to pay their respects, said Kannur DCC President Martin George.

The body will be kept at the Kasaragod DCC Office from 1 pm to 2 pm. "The funeral procession will start from Kasaragod at 2 pm," said Kasaragod DCC President Faisal.

The procession will have stopovers at Poinachi (2.30 pm), Udma town (3 pm), Bekal-Periya Road Junction (3.15 pm), Puthiyakotta Mantop in Kanhangad (3.45 pm), Nileshwar Market Junction (4.15 pm), Madakkara town (4.30), near IUML office at Moosajaji Mukku in Padna (5 pm), and Trikaripur bus stand (5.30 pm) to end the Kasaragod leg of the procession.

The body will then be taken to the Gandhi Park at Payyannur around 6 pm, said a statement from the two DCC offices.

Around 7 pm, the funeral procession will reach Kandonthar and at 8.30 pm at Priyadarshini Mandir at Caramel.

The Congress leader's body will be taken to his house at Annur in Payyannur at 8.30 am on Friday. The statement said the cremation will be held at Shanti Sthal Crematorium at Moorikoval in Payyannur around 11 a.m. on Friday.