Senior Congress leader and Kerala former chief minister Oommen Chandy has passed away. He was 79.
The veteran leader, who was undergoing cancer treatment in Bengaluru, died at a private hospital at 4.25 am on Tuesday. His death was announced by his son, Chandy Oommen, in a Facebook post. "Appa has passed away", Oommen wrote on his Facebook page.
Chandy, who began his political journey as a student leader in 1967, represented the Puthupally constituency in Kottayam district. He served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, from 2004 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2016.
He was also the longest-serving member of the Kerala Assembly after being elected 12 times continuously from Puthupally constituency from 1970 to 2021. Chandy was also the general secretary of the AICC.
Chandy's first stint as a state minister happened in 1977 in the K. Karunakaran ministry as the labour minister. He held the same post in the succeeding A K Antony cabinet, formed after K Karunakaran resigned next year.
Chandy was also the Home Minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet from December 1981 to March 1982 and became the finance minister in the UDF ministry of 1991. He was serving as the Congress convenor in 2004 when he first became the chief minister, following A K Antony's resignation.
A popular leader with a strong public support, Chandy is credited with the hugely successful 'Mass Contact' programme launched during his term as the chief minister. The scheme saw Chandy directly listening to people's woes and issuing orders to officials on the spot. Over 11 lakh people benefitted from the scheme, and Chandy often spent 12 to 19 hours meeting people at each venue. The programme won him United Nations Public Service Award in the Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service category.
Chandy, who had not been keeping well for quite some time, was staying in Bengaluru for cancer treatment. Oommen Chandy is survived by his wife Mariamma Oommen, and children Maria Oommen, Achu Oommen and Chandy Oommen.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, and leaders of various political parties condoled Chandy's demise.