New Delhi: DMK MLA J Anbazhagan died early morning today of acute respiratory distress, the manifestation of the Covid-19 disease. The political leader was 61 and incidentally passed away on his birthday.


Anbazhagan was admitted to the hospital a week earlier on complaints of respiratory issues after which he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. He was put on ventilator support on June 3 when his breathing trouble worsened. Also Read|Coronavirus: India Sees Spike Of Nearly 10,000 Cases In 24 Hours, Total Cases Now Over 2.75 Lakh

The Tamil Nadu MLA was being treated at the Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre and the hospital said,"He was fighting acute pneumonia and his condition deteriorated on Monday evening."

His cardiac function dropped and chronic kidney disease also contributed to his critical condition.

In a statement today, the private hospital said: "The COVID 19 pneumonia rapidly deteriorated early this morning. In spite of full medical support including mechanical ventilation at our COVID facility he succumbed to his illness."

Anbazhagan is the first big political figure to have fallen prey to the coronavirus in Tamil Nadu.

He was actively involved in MK Stalin's ‘Ondrinaivom Va’ (Let's come together) initiative to provide relief materials to the people in distress in the state.

Chief Minister E Palanisamy and DMK chief M K Stalin have condoled the politician's death. Announcing three-day mourning, Stalin said: "How will I forget Anbazhagan, who died contracting the virus, dedicating himself for public life. My dear brother Anbazhagan...when will I see you again".

Considered close to DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Anbazhagan was the party’s Chennai west district secretary.

A three-time MLA, Anbazhagan was elected to the assembly in 2001, 2011, and 2016. He was elected from T Nagar constituency in Chennai in 2001 but moved to Chepauk in 2011 after being defeated in 2006.

The DMK MLA was a huge fan of Vijay Joseph, a profound actor in Tamil Cinema and condolences started pouring on social media after the news of his demise broke out. Many users wrote on Twitter that they lost their favorite Vijay fan who always supported the people who needed it.

Tamil Nadu is the second-most affected state in the country after Maharashtra with 34,914 Covid-19 cases reported till Tuesday. These include 16,282 active cases and 307 deaths from the virus.

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