R Kanagaraj, the AIADMK MLA from Sulur Assembly constituency passed away on Thursday morning after suffering from a cardiac arrest while reading a newspaper in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. He was 66.

Chief Minister E Palaniswami and several other ministers are expected to go to Coimbatore to pay their last respects to the deceased leader.

He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 2016 from Sulur in Coimbatore district. He defeated Congress candidate Manoharan by a margin of over 35,000 votes.

Kanagaraj was an agriculturalist by profession and with his death, the AIADMK's strength in the Tamil Nadu assembly has come down to 113, which is five short of a majority. The total vacancy in the assembly has touched 22.

Kanagaraj is survived by his wife Rathinam, son Shanmugasundaram and daughter Bamavijaya.