CHENNAI: BJP national executive committee member M N Sukumaran Nambiar died here on Sunday following a heart attack. He was 60. He is survived by his wife and two sons.Nambiar was the son of yesteryear actor M N Nambiar. He joined the party in 1991 and rose in the ranks to hold key positions in the BJP, including that of treasurer. His proximity with former BJP president and senior leader L K Advani and the Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa is well known. In fact, it was Nambiar who, in 1998 and 2004, played a major role in firming up an alliance between the two parties.Chief Minister Jayalalithaa condoled the death of Nambiar and called him a “true patriot.” In a statement, Jayalalithaa said, “His death is indeed a great loss to the Bharatiya Janata Party. In his passing away, we have lost a true patriot and a person who untiringly served society.”Jayalalithaa recalled his expertise in several martial arts, with a black belt in karate. Nambiar trained personnel of the Indian Army in martial arts. Like his father, he too evinced deep interest in spiritualism and was the president of the All India Ayyappa Seva Sangam, Jayalalithaa said.A release from the party remembered him as a person hailing from a well-to-do family but equally comfortable in interacting with people from all strata of society. He was revered as ‘guruswamy’ by lakhs of Ayyappa devotees, the release said. He had been visiting the shrine at Sabarimala every year since the age of 12.Nambiar had contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls from the North Chennai constituency but had lost to C Kuppuswamy of the DMK.His funeral procession will start from his Gopalapuram residence at 9.30 am on Monday and the final rites will be performed at the Besant Nagar crematorium at 10 am. BJP national president Nitin Gadkari, senior leader Venkaiah Naidu, all-India joint organising secretary Satish, national executive committee member L Ganesan, state party president Pon Radhakrishnan and other leaders would participate, the release added.
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