Kochi | Senior IUML leader V K Ebrahim Kunju died on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here, party sources said. He was 73.

Kunju had not been keeping well for some time, they said.

A prominent figure in UDF politics, Kunju served as an MLA four times and as a minister twice, and played a key role in strengthening the Indian Union Muslim League in central Kerala. He was the state vice-president of the party.

Kunju began his political journey through the MSF, the student wing of the Muslim League, and later worked actively in the Youth League and the district party leadership before rising to senior positions.

He was first elected to the Kerala Assembly from Mattancherry in 2001, retained the seat in 2006, and later represented Kalamassery in 2011 and 2016.

In the government led by senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy, he handled important departments such as Public Works and Industries.

In November 2020, Kunju was arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of a flyover here during the previous Congress-led UDF rule.

The Vigilance alleged that Kunju had sanctioned interest-free funds to the contracting company that built the Palarivattom flyover in the city. The flyover was closed after it developed cracks within a year of its inauguration in 2016.

The flyover, which had been closed for reconstruction since May 2019, within three years of its commissioning, was reopened for traffic in March 2021.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and senior Congress leaders were among those who condoled Kunju's demise.