TRIVANDRUM, 20 May 2004 — Veteran Marxist leader E.K. Nayanar, who stepped down as Kerala’s longest serving chief minister three years ago, died in New Delhi yesterday at the age of 86.
Nayanar, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) politburo member and three-time Kerala chief minister, was admitted to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on April 26.
CPM leader K. Balakrishnan said Nayanar’s body would be flown to Calicut today and kept at the Town Hall for people to pay their last respects. He will be cremated at Payyambalam.
Nayanar was a central player in the state’s politics for the last five decades. He held the reins of the southern state during 1980-82, 1987-91 and 1996-2001. He was also elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
Caretaker Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony paid their last respects to the departed leader.
