Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader PP Mukundan, who returned to the Kerala state unit of the party in 2016 after staying away from it for a decade, breathed his last at a private hospital in Ernakulam on September 13, Wednesday.
One of the most popular BJP leaders in the state in the 80s and 90s and the architect of anti-communist electoral alliance which included the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Congress, Mukundan remained sidelined in the party despite returning to the party-fold and was not extended any organisational positions.
In 2021, after the dismal performance of the BJP in Kerala, Mukundan wrote a letter to BL Santhosh, national organising secretary of the party, criticising the state leadership for the electoral failure and urging corrective action.
The 77-year-old veteran had been unwell for a while. Mukundan, a bachelor, started his political career as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist and dedicated his life to the growth of BJP. The anti-communist electoral alliance formed in the 1990s with the Congress and the IUML happened when BJP was not an electoral entity in Kerala.
In an interview to the TNM in 2015, Mukundan said that the BJP should focus on social unity, rather than establishing a broad Hindu alliance. People from all religions should be able to fit in the party, he said.
Hailing from Kannur, he was the managing editor of the BJP party mouthpiece from 1988 to 95.
He distanced himself from the party in 2006 until his return in 2016. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to get back to where he wished to be in the state unit of the party.
At his peak he was one of the most sought after BJP leaders and his soft and polite demeanour helped social and cultural leaders from minority communities to gel well with him.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled Mukundan's demise and described him as a "tall" leader of the Sangh Parivar in Kerala.
Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer also expressed his grief at the passing away of the death of the veteran politician.