Ex-Kerala CM, Congress veteran Oommen Chandy passes away at 79
What's the story
Congress stalwart and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy (79) passed away in Bengaluru in the early hours of Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
He was undergoing treatment for cancer at Bengaluru's Chinmaya Hospital.
The Kerala government declared two days of public mourning, while the state's Mahatma Gandhi University postponed all exams scheduled for the day. Congress leaders have expressed grief over his death.
Twitter Post
Chandy deeply involved in people's lives: CM Vijayan
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan expresses deep grief over the death of former CM Oommen Chandy.
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2023
"We were elected to the Legislative Assembly in the same year. It was at the same stage that we came to the political fore through student life. We led public life at the same time and it… pic.twitter.com/1V5Ab4eenp
Background
Represented home constituency of Puthuppally for 5 decades
Reportedly, Chandy had been unwell since 2019 and was also taken to Germany in November last year after his cancer worsened.
He served as Kerala's CM twice: 2004-06 and 2011-16. He was the sitting MLA from his home constituency of Puthuppally in Kottayam district, which he represented for over five decades.
Last year, he became the longest-serving member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Details
Won his first assembly seat at 27
In 1970, Chandy won his first assembly election from Puthuppally, aged 27, while serving as the president of the Youth Congress. He went on to win 11 consecutive polls.
He was first inducted into the state cabinet in 1977 in the K Karunakaran government.
He also served as a minister in four other cabinets and four times as the state's Leader of the Opposition.
Early life
Known for leading modest life
Born in 1943, Chandy entered politics in the 1960s as a student leader with the Kerala Students' Union, the Kerala Congress's student wing.
Despite reaching such heights in his political career, he was known for leading a simple life. In 2016, photos of him traveling in a passenger bus and later in a train's sleeper class compartment went viral, too.
UDF
Chandy became CM as AK Antony moved to Centre
Chandy became Kerala's labor minister in 1977-78, home minister in 1981-82, and finance minister in 1991-94. He later became the convener of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.
Known as a loyalist of AK Antony, Chandy became Kerala's CM when the former became the defence minister at the Centre. Although the UDF lost in 2006, he led it to victory in 2011.
Puthuppally
Congress almost didn't field Chandy in 1970
Before Chandy's first win in 1970, the chances of the Congress winning in Puthuppally were considered bleak.
The Congress was split the previous year following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi from the party for violating party discipline.
The party offered the seat to its ally, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). However, the RSP didn't have a suitable candidate, following which the Congress fielded Chandy.