Indian MP Ganeshamoorthy dies of cardiac arrest after failed suicide attempt

The three-time parliamentarian was denied a ticket for the upcoming national elections

Police and media reports say A Ganeshamoorthi consumed pesticide. Photo: A.Ganeshamurthi, Erode-Loksabha MP / Facebook

A national parliamentarian from southern India has died of cardiac arrest days after allegedly consuming poison over his party denying him a spot to contest the upcoming elections.

A Ganeshamoorthy, 76, was a three-time parliamentarian from Erode in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

He died of cardiac arrest at a hospital on Thursday, four days after allegedly consuming pesticide.

India will hold a seven-phase poll starting on April 19 to elect a new government that will be announced on June 4.

Mr Ganeshamoorthy was rushed to a hospital in Coimbatore where he was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.

He failed to respond to treatment and died in the early hours of Thursday.

He was one of the senior leaders of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a regional party that is in an alliance with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party in Tamil Nadu.

The politician had contested polls for Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament in 1998, 2009 and 2019 under the DMK banner.

However, under the seat-sharing pact between DMK and MDMK for the upcoming elections, the Erode constituency, the home seat of Mr Ganeshamoorthy, went to a DMK candidate.

The veteran leader was upset over the events and reportedly consumed pesticide on March 24, police and media reports said.