Kannur: CPM central committee leader MC Josephine succumbed to heart attack in the midst of the 23rd Party Congress in Kannur. Two years ago, on March 30, 2020, her husband Pallippattu PA Mathai also succumbed to a heart attack.

Mathai was a trade union leader. An old 'Parivarthana Congress' worker, Mathai joined CPM and became the local secretary and CITU district secretary of Ernakulam. During his last days, he had quit the leadership roles due to ill health and was a member of the Kalluppalam branch of CPM.

He had led trade unions of railway goods shed workers, FCI lorry drivers, liquor traders, and headload workers.

Josephine, one of the tallest leaders of the party in Kerala, was rushed to hospital from the Party Congress stage. Always an ardent cadre of CPM, she stood firm even at the worst controversies.