Kerala: Senior BJP leader PP Mukundan passes away at 77

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state general secretary PP Mukundan passed away on Wednesday (Sep 13). He was also appointed as the BJP South India Organising General Secretary in 2005–2007.

Kochi: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state general secretary PP Mukundan passed away on Wednesday (Sep 13). He was undergoing treatment for liver cancer and breathed his last at Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi this morning. The body will be kept for public viewing at the RSS office in Kochi. Later, it will be taken to Kannur.

A former member of the BJP National Executive Committee, Mukundan was born to Krishnan Nair and Kalyaniyamma at Kottiyur in Kannur district. From 1988 to 1995, he worked as the managing director of Janmabhoomi daily. He was the general secretary of the BJP organization from 1991 to 2007. He was also appointed as the BJP South India Organising General Secretary in 2005–2007.

PP Mukundan was instrumental in the implementation of the much-criticized CoLeBi experiment (short for Congress-League-BJP) for securing a seat in the Assembly at that time. 

He was expelled from the BJP in 2006 and returned to the party in 2016 after ten years. Mukundan was considered to be the BJP's top strategist in Kerala between 1980 and 1990. Party members respect his organising and crisis management abilities.

Mukundan was the powerhouse of the BJP in Kerala and South India. His growth in politics as a great organizer was after the Emergency period. He was the strong face of the BJP in Kerala during the time when EK Nayanar and K Karunakaran led the left and right fronts. He was well known for being an experienced RSS campaigner and was essential in determining Sangh Parivar politics in the state.