Former union minister E.M. Sudarsana Nachiappan passes away at 79
India
E.M. Sudarsana Nachiappan, former union minister and senior Congress leader, died at 79 after a brief illness at his home in Sivaganga.
Nachiappan defeated P Chidambaram in 1999
Nachiappan started out with the Congress party in 1969 and gradually rose through the ranks, leading local youth groups and later becoming vice president of the state Congress committee.
He made headlines in 1999 by defeating P Chidambaram to win the Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat, then served as an MP until 2016 and was union minister of state for Commerce and Industry from 2013-14.