Former minister and senior Congress leader T H Mustafa passes away
Kochi: Senior Congress leader and former state minister T H Mustafa died on Sunday at a private hospital here due to multiple age-related ailments.
He was 82 and is survived by wife and eight children, family sources said.
Mustafa was a former Food Minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet and a five-time legislator. He was undergoing treatment for various ailments at the private hospital where he breathed his last at 5.43 AM, hospital sources told PTI.
Leaders cutting across party lines condoled Mustafa's demise.
Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Mustafa had left his mark on the public life of Kerala as a minister, a legislator and a Congress leader.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, V D Satheesan, said Mustafa strengthened the Congress and led it well in Ernakulam district.
KPCC chief K Sudhakaran termed Mustafa's demise as a 'great loss' to the party.
''He has played a major role in strengthening the Congress party in Ernakulam District. He was a great orator and an organiser. He used to help anyone who approached him, without considering their politics or religion,'' Sudhakaran said.
With the demise of T H Mustafa, Congress lost a strong leader, AICC General Secretary in charge of Organisation, K C Venugopal, said in a statement. Venugopal noted that Mustafa rose to prominence in the Congress party through the Youth Congress.
''His immense contribution helped in the growth of Congress in the district. He supported the party by even selling his own property,'' Venugopal said.
Mustafa was the Ernakulam District Congress Committee President for 14 years and functioned as KPCC General Secretary and KPCC Vice President.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
