Thiruvananthapuram, Monday, October 31, 2011: Former Minister and senior Congress leader MP Gangadharan (77) has passed away at a private hospital here on Monday.

Six-time Kerala legislator M.P.Gangadharan has served as Minister for Irrigation from 24-05-1982 to 12-03-1986. He had left Congress to join the Democratic Indira Congress (which later merged with Nationalist Congress Party) floated by Senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran.

In 2006, Karunakaran decided to merge the DIC-K with Nationalist Congress Party. When Karunakaran decided to rejoin the Congress party in Dec 2007, Gangadharan stayed with the NCP.

He also acted as Congress parliamentary party deputy leader, chairman of water authority and KTDC, Malappuram DCC president, KPCC general secretary. He was born on July 15, 1934 as the son of P Sankarapanikker and M Madhaviamma.