Former DMK MLA Veerappan has passed away at the age of 77 on Wednesday - June 15 at his residence in the Namakkal district due to age-related ailments. Veerappan has also served as the Rajya Sabha MP and after learning about his demise, several political leaders and cadres have been paying tribute to the departed soul and expressing condolences to the family of the deceased. 

Veerappan was a native of Pudur, near Sandhaipettai in Namakkal and he was active in politics for over two decades. He got elected to the assembly as a DMK MLA in the 1996 assembly polls from the Kabilar Malai constituency in Namakkal. In the 2001 polls, he had again contested from the same constituency as an independent candidate. However, he had conceded the defeat to his opponent. 

Besides serving as DMK's District Secretary of Namakkal, Veerappan has also served as the Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu from 1990 to 1996 as the DMK candidate, before contesting in the assembly polls in 1996. As DMK had denied him the ticket for the 2021 assembly polls, he had contested independently and later, he was suspended from the DMK for his anti-party activities, following which Veerappan had joined the Congress. 

For the past few years, he was not active in politics and was getting treated for his age-related ailments. On Wednesday, he had suffered a sudden health discomfort and breathed his last at his residence in Namakkal at the age of 77. The death of a veteran leader had saddened the cadres and several leaders have been expressing condolences. Veerappan was survived by his wife Sivagami and his two sons.