Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan passed away at his residence in Sivaganga on Thursday (September 17, 2026). He was 78, and is survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, and two elder brothers.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president Manickam Tagore, a nephew of Natchiappan, said his uncle had died in his sleep. “When he did not get up in the morning, his driver went to his room, only to find he was no more,” he told .

A Congressman since 1969, Natchiappan rose through the ranks from his early days as the Singampunari Regional Youth Congress president to become the vice-president of the TNCC in 2002. He also served as the party whip in Parliament.

Student leader

Born in Eriyur in Sivaganga district, Natchiappan was active in the Students’ Congress while studying at the Law College. “Later, he worked in the Youth Congress and became its general secretary. He was elected chairman of the Sivaganga Panchayat Union in the 1986 local body elections, which showcased a lot of talented Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Tagore said.

After practising law in Sivaganga, Natchiappan shifted his practice to the Madras High Court in 1991 and to the Supreme Court in 1995.

A staunch Congress loyalist and admirer of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Natchiappan remained with the Congress when the late G.K. Moopanar launched the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) in 1996 in protest against the Congress high command’s decision to align with the AIADMK.

Victory in 1999 LS polls

Before making his mark in national politics, he gained widespread attention in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections by winning the Sivaganga parliamentary seat against senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram when the latter was in the TMC.

After Mr. Chidambaram returned to the Congress, Natchiappan could not secure the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency again. He was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha by party leader Sonia Gandhi and represented the House for two terms. He served as the Congress Lok Sabha member from the Sivaganga constituency from 1999 to 2004 and as a Rajya Sabha member from 2004 to 2016.

He also served as Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry for a brief period between 2013 and 2014. He made significant contributions as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice between 2004 and 2009.

Natchiappan, an expert in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, fishermen’s rights, and the Katchatheevu islet, had addressed the United Nations General Assembly on two occasions.

He had been receiving medical care for his declining health in Sivaganga for the past few days, but passed away at his residence after the treatment proved unsuccessful.