KOCHI: The body of MC Josephine, the late senior CPM leader and former chairperson of the Women's Commission, will be handed over to Kalamassery Medical College for medical research. Josephine herself had the wish to hand over the body. She was admitted to Kannur AKG Hospital due to a heart attack during the CPM party congress and died a day after.

CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will pay their last respects at the hospital. After that, the body would be taken in a procession to her house in Angamaly, Kochi. The body will be kept for public viewing at home and transferred to the CSI Auditorium at 8 am tomorrow. The body will be handed over to Kalamassery Medical College at 1 pm.

She is a member of the CPM Central Committee and has been the vice president and state president of the All India Women's Association, chairperson of the Women Development Corporation and chairperson of the Greater Kochi Development Authority. She was a former councilor of Angamaly Municipal Corporation.

She has contested and lost the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections before. In 1989, she contested the Lok Sabha elections from Idukki. In 2011 she also contested in Kochi Assembly constituency. In 2016, she contested from Mattancherry for Assembly elections. The party congress expressed its condolences on the death of Josephine. General Secretary Sitaram Yechury presented the condolence resolution.

Josephine was born in 1948 in Murikumpadam, Mappilassery to Chavara and Magdalena. Her husband is the late Pallipattu PA Mathai, CITU Angamaly area secretary. Son: Manu P Mathai. Daughter-in-law: Jyotsana. Grandchildren: Manav Vyas and Kannaki Vyas.