Chennai, Aug 7: The funeral ceremony of former Tamil Nadu chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi will be held at Marina today. The Dravidian leader died on Tuesday at Kauvery Hospital after a prolonged illness. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and several politicians and celebrities will attend the last rites of Karunanidhi. The Tamil Nadu government has announced to hold seven days of mourning in the state. Follow Live updates of Kalaignar's final journey here.

Karunanidhi, popularly known as Kalaignar, died at 6:10 pm in Kauvery Hospital today. "With deep anguish, we announce the demise of our beloved Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi at 6:10 pm. Despite the best possible efforts by a team of doctors and nurses to resuscitate him, he failed to respond." the hospital said in a statement. Karunanidhi, 94, was admitted to the hospital on July 28.

On July 26, the hospital said Karunanidhi was suffering from urinary tract infection. On July 28, his condition declined with a drop in his blood pressure. On Monday, the medical bulletin issued by Kauvery Hospital said that Karunanidhi's condition had deteriorated. Since then, his condition had been critical. Karunanidhi is survived by three wives and six children.

Born on 3 June 1924 in Nagapattinam district of erstwhile Madras Presidency, Karunanidhi was Tamil Nadu's chief minister five times. PM Modi expressed his anguish over the death of DMK President M. Karunanidhi. In a series of tweets, Modi said: "Deeply saddened by the passing away of Kalaignar Karunanidhi. He was one of the senior most leaders of India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 08, 2018 10:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).