NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and literary figure Kumari Ananthan, father of former Telangana Governor and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundarajan, passed away at age 93 in a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday due to age-related illness.
Ananthan served as a member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly five times and was elected as a Congress Lok Sabha MP from the Nagarkoil constituency in 1977.

His body will be kept for public homage at his daughter’s residence in Chennai Saligramam.
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan shared her grief over her father’s death on social media platform X.
“I do not speak Tamil because I learned it… I speak Tamil because Tamil gave birth to me. It was my father, Mr. Kumari Ananthan, who made me speak Tamil with pride. Today, he has joined my mother, blending into eternity,” wrote Soundararajan in her emotional tribute.
The veteran politician and literary personality had made significant contributions to public life through his multiple terms in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and his tenure as a Member of Parliament.
His passing marks the end of an era for both his family and the political landscape of Tamil Nadu, where he remained an influential figure throughout his career.