Chennai, Dec 15 The funeral of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan, who passed away on December 14, will take place on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the public crematorium in Mugavilakkom, Chennai.
Elangovan, who also served as the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president and was a sitting legislator from the Erode East Assembly constituency, had been in hospital for nearly a month. He was 75.
The deceased leader was the grand-nephew of social reformer and Dravidian icon E.V.S. Ramasamy Periyar.
Elangovan was the son of E.V.K. Sampath, a close associate of the first DMK Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, and Sulochana Sampath, who was associated with the AIADMK.
He began his political journey in his school days and was elected Secretary of the Presidency College Students Congress in 1967.
Over the years, he held several key positions within the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, including, President of the Erode District Youth Congress (1978 -1980), President of the Erode City Congress Committee (1980 -1982), General Secretary of the Erode District Congress Committee (1982-1983), President of the Erode District Congress Committee (1990-1996), Member of the All India Congress Committee, General Secretary of TNCC (1998 - 2000), President of TNCC (2000 - 2002, 2014 - 2016), Working President of TNCC (2002 - 2003).
He was also actively involved in trade union activities, particularly with the transport wing of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).
Elangovan, known for his outspoken nature, often clashed with powerful Dravidian leaders and former Chief Ministers M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, even during alliances between the Congress and their respective parties. Notably, Jayalalithaa was his classmate.
He once accused the AIADMK, under Jayalalithaa’s leadership, of aligning with outfits sympathetic to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an organisation banned in India following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Elangovan also voiced discomfort when Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) founder G.K. Moopanar built ties with Jayalalithaa after the DMK joined the BJP-led government at the Centre in 1999.
In 2006, he stirred controversy by demanding a share of power for the Congress in Tamil Nadu, akin to the DMK’s participation in the Union government under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Elangovan faced personal tragedy in January 2023 when his son, E. Thirumahan Everaa, the sitting MLA of Erode East, passed away at 46 due to a heart attack.
In the subsequent by-election, Elangovan contested and won the seat, continuing his family’s political legacy.
Apart from politics, Elangovan had a passion for car racing and participated in races in Sholavaram, Chennai, between 1972 and 1973.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K. Selvaperunthugai announced a week-long mourning to honour Elangovan, during which the party flag will be flown at half-mast across the state.
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