Kannur: Former MLA and veteran Congress leader K P Kunhikannan has passed away at the age of 75. He died in a private hospital in Kannur, where he was undergoing treatment for a rib injury sustained in a car accident.

On the afternoon of September 4, Kunhikannan's car collided with the divider on the national highway near the Karuvachery petrol pump in Nileswaram. The accident occurred while he was returning home to Payyannur after attending a meeting in Kanhangad.

Kunhikannan made his mark in politics when he was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Udma constituency in Kasaragod district in the 1987 elections. He was also known for being the first president of the District Congress Committee (DCC) after Kasaragod district was formed.