Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader from northern Kerala Cherkalam Abdulla, a prominent figure in the social, cultural, and political milieu of the region, died on Friday.
Mr. Abdulla, 76, who had been keeping indifferent health for the past few months, was admitted to a Mangaluru hospital following heart complications and was shifted to his residence on Thursday. He died around 8.30 a.m., IUML sources said.
People in hundreds streamed to his house, Crescent Villa, at Cherkala here through out the day to pay tributes to the departed leader.
Mr. Abdulla enjoyed grassroots-level support, especially in the Kasaragod and Manjeswaram Assembly segments, and had steered the UDF district unit, officiating as its convener till he was named IUML State treasurer.
Mr. Abdulla, who won the Manjeswaram segment in 1987, 1991, 1996, and 2001, was Local Self-Government Minister in the UDF government under A.K. Antony from 2001 to 2004. He had been credited with streamlining Kudumbasree-initiated projects initiated during his tenure. However, Mr. Abdulla tasted electoral defeat in Manjeswaram in 2006 at the hands of C.H. Kunhambu of the CPI(M). He had officiated as member on the Manjeshwaram Govinda Pai Memorial Committee, instituted in the name of the multilingual poet, and headed various boards during the tenure of UDF governments.
He was born on September 15,1942 at Cherkala near Kasaragod. Mr. Abdulla is survived by wife Ayisha, two sons, and two daughters. The mortal remains were laid to rest with full State honours at Muhiyudeen Juma Masjid at Cherkala in Kasaragod in the evening.
