Chennai: Former state minister and DMK’s satrap in the delta region Ko.Si. Mani (87), who was suffering from prolonged illness, passed away at his house at Aduthurai in Thanjavur district on Friday. His health deteriorated after he became the state cooperative minister in 2006. Due to illness, he did not contest the 2011 Assembly elections and retired from active politics.
He was a minister in the DMK cabinet for three terms and was elected to the Assembly five times. He is the first DMK leader to win from Kumbakonam considered as a Congress stronghold, besides having a sizeable population of upper caste voters.
Born in Mekkirimangalam on September 13, 1929, he joined the DMK in the ’50s and worked under its founder C.N. Annadurai. As early as 1962, he was elected from Aduthurai constituency, defeating a powerful Congress nominee Ramamirtha Thondaman.
He lost the 1967 Assembly polls from Kumbakonam by a narrow margin of about 1,000 votes. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1968 to 1980.
He was a powerful district secretary of Thanjavur and later rose to prominence as a satrap of the delta districts in the eighties.
Though, the DMK was out of power for 13 years, he kept the party’s base intact in the erstwhile Thanjavur district comprising Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur.
He won from Kumbakonam constituency in 1989 and became a minister in the DMK government. When Vaiko walked out of the DMK in 1994 to form the MDMK, Mani despite being very close to Vaiko, chose to remain in the DMK and safeguarded the party in the delta districts.
He won from Kumbakonam again in 1996 to become a minister again.
He was successful in Kumbakonam again in 2001, when the party was routed in Assembly polls. He contested again in the same seat and won to take charge as cooperative minister.
He has received school education up to ninth standard. He is survived by on named Mathialagan, daughters Indraani and Manimegalai. One of his daughters Pushpa died in 2008.
