New Delhi, March 7 (IANS): Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday led the party in condoling the death of Kerala assembly speaker G. Karthikeyan.

Sonia Gandhi described the 66-year-old Congressman as a seasoned politician whose "death had left behind a void that would be hard to fill".

Rahul Gandhi said Karthikeyan was a grassroots leader who "served the party and the people of the state with dedication for over four decades".

"His loss will be deeply mourned. My thoughts and prayers are with his family in this time of grief," the vice president said in a message.

Recalling his long association with Karthikeyan, party leader Ahmed Patel said the people of Kerala would never forget their leader's service and contribution to the state politics.

Karthikeyan died on Saturday at a hospital in Bengaluru where he was being treated for liver cancer, the Congress party said.

The prominent Congress leader, who served as a minister in Kerala's state cabinet, was elected to the assembly six times.