Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has on Friday paid tribute in-person to deceased ADMK leader Madhusudhanan, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 80 due to age-related ailments. Madhusudhanan, one of the oldest politicians in the state, had been serving as the ADMK's Presidium Chairman. The veteran leader was hospitalized for the past few weeks was battling for survival. 

Tributes have been outpouring for the departed soul and leaders are expressing their condolences to the family of the veteran leader. He was getting treated at the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. He had tested positive for the Covid-19 viral infection months back and later got recovered from the pandemic. However, he had complained of breathing difficulties in July post which he was admitted to the hospital. His health condition had attained several setbacks and warranted a life-saving treatment with the support of a ventilator. 

Amid being monitored by a team of doctors, his health had deteriorated further and the hospital had on Wednesday said that his health condition had worsened and he had breathed his last in the evening hours of Thursday at the age of 80. His demise had saddened the party as it has lost the strongest and veteran arm and loyal aide of Jayalalithaa. He also had served as the Minister of Handlooms in the cabinet headed by Jayalalithaa in her first tenure as the Chief Minister from 1991-96. 

Following his demise, his mortal remain was transported to his residence in Tondiarpet, Chennai through an ambulance. The ADMK leaders and functionaries have been paying homage to the deceased leader. On Friday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had arrived at his residence and paid his last respect to Madhusudhanan. He had consoled his family members and was seen sitting near ADMK leaders Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam.  

MK Stalin was accompanied by DMK Ministers Sekar Babu and Ma Subramanian and expressed condolences to the ADMK leaders. Madhusudhanan has a political career spanning six decades, making him one of the iconic political faces in Tamil Nadu. He had started MGR Fan Club when he was 14 and by having MGR as a driving force, Madhusudhanan had then joined the ADMK and became one of the prominent political figures in Chennai.

After the demise of MGR, he had etched his loyalty to Jayalalithaa and for his immense trust, Jayalalithaa had awarded the party's ticket to Madhusudhanan to contest from RK Nagar constituency in the 1991 assembly polls. After his victory in the elections, Jayalalithaa had made him the minister of Handlooms. In 2007, Jayalalithaa had appointed Madhusudhanan as the ADMK's Presidium Chairman and she has said that Madhusudhanan will be the ADMK's Presidium Chairman till he lives, and it indeed happened as he had held the post till his last breath amid a shorter backlash when the party was rifted following the demise of Jayalalithaa in 2016. 

The ADMK had divided into two camps, headed by Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam respectively in 2017. Madhusudhanan has supported Panneerselvam and when the party was facing tussle, the Election Commission of India has provided the party's name and election symbol to Madhusudhanan. After the merger, Madhusudhanan was again officially appointed as the ADMK's Presidium Chairman. After Jayalalithaa's demise, he had contested in the RK Nagar by-polls as part of Panneerselvam's team. However, he had lost the election to TTV Dhinakaran, who got the backing of Edappadi Palaniswami during that time. 

One of the oldest party members of the party, Madhusudhanan's demise had anguished the entire party and the ADMK leaders Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had paid tribute to the veteran leader. It must be noted that it was Madhusudhanan's hospitalization that brought Edappadi Palaniswami and his rival VK Sasikala too close recently. Both the rivals had come to the hospital to visit Madhusudhanan and when Palaniswami had come to know that Sasikala had arrived at the hospital, he had immediately left the premises to avoid eye contact with Sasikala. His mortal remains will be cremated in Moolakothalam crematorium in Basin Bridge, Chennai.