Kozhikode, March 3 : K.P. Unnikrishnan, former Union Minister and six-time Member of Parliament from Vadakara, Kerala, passed away at the age of 89, marking the end of a political career that spanned more than three decades in national public life.

Born on September 20, 1936, into a family from the Malabar coast, he was the son of E. Kunhikannan Nair.

Unnikrishnan was educated at Madras Christian College, Chennai, and later completed his law degree in the city.

His early political leanings were shaped by his association with the Socialist Party and the Praja Socialist Party before he joined the Indian National Congress in the 1960s.

By 1962, he had become a member of the All India Congress Committee.

Before entering full-time politics, Unnikrishnan worked as a journalist and contributed articles to Mathrubhumi and other periodicals as a special correspondent.

His electoral journey began in 1971 when he was fielded as the Congress candidate from Vadakara.

Unnikrishnan went on to win six consecutive Lok Sabha elections, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989 and 1991, an achievement that underscored his enduring connect with the constituency.

Despite shifting political affiliations, moving to Congress(U) in 1980 and later to the Indian Congress (Socialist) in 1984, he remained electorally undefeated until 1996, when he suffered his only loss in Vadakara.

Between 1981 and 1984, he served as leader of Congress (Secular) in Parliament and was a member of the Public Accounts Committee from 1980 to 1982.

Unnikrishnan served as Union Minister for Telecommunications, Shipping and Surface Transport in the Cabinet of V. P. Singh (1989-90).

During his ministerial tenure, he played a key role in overseeing the evacuation of Indians during the Gulf War crisis.

It appears a strange coincidence as he breathed his last at a time when West Asia has turned into a war zone.

After stepping away from active politics following his 1996 defeat, he divided his time between New Delhi and his ancestral home at Panniyankara in Kozhikode district, devoting himself to reading and writing.

/IANS