What does it take be a mass leader? Oommen Chandy's political life answers the complex question. The Congress stalwart and two-time chief minister of Kerala loved the masses and they loved him back. Though he passed away on Tuesday morning at a private hospital in Bengaluru, Chandy will continue to live in the minds of lakhs of people, irrespective of their political affliations.
Oommen Chandy was born on October 31, 1948, at Kumarakom in Kottayam district. He ventured into the political arena as an activist of Kerala Students Union, the student wing of Congress, becoming its unit president at St George High School, Puthupally. He was also involved in All-Kerala Balajana Sakhyam of Malayala Manorama and was the helm of the organisation for a short period.
Fifty three years ago, on September 17, 1970, Chandy faced his maiden election from Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kottayam district of Kerala. Chandy was the Youth Congress president back then, and Prof K.M. Chandy, a tall leader in the party then, handed him the party symbol with the statement: "Don’t think that you can win. If you come second, Congress will consider it a victory."
But Chandy won. Not once, but 11 times. For the next 53 years, Puthuppally never considered any other name to represent it at the Kerala assembly. The feat would earn him the distinction of the longest serving MLA in the history of Kerala legislative assembly.
Chandy concentrated on labour issues plaguing Kerala during his early years as a legislator. In 1977, at 33 years, he became the labour minister in the K. Karunakaran ministry. Over 15 lakh unemployed youth were provided financial assistance then. Chandy also set the age limit of Public Service Commission to 35. It was also during his stint as the labour minister that the Kerala Headload Workers Act was passed.
Though Karunakaran resigned after the verdict against him in the controversial Rajan case, Chandy remained a minister. But when A.K. Antony, who succeeded Karunakaran, resigned, Chandy too quit from the cabinet. The factional war that would engulf the Congress party for the next many decades took shape during this period, and Chandy became the leader of the 'A group'.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he become ministers in different Congress cabinets. Interestingly, he could not complete a full term in any of these cabinets.
It was in 2004 after the resignation of A.K. Antony —following the Lok Sabha election disaster for Congress in the state —that Chandy first became the chief minister of Kerala. He launched the 'mass contact programme' in 14 districts of Kerala immediately after he came to power.
It was during this short tenure that the Kerala government implemented the Kochi Metro Rail project and green lighted the Kannur International Airport Project. Kerala received investments worth Rs 20,000 crore from government of India during this phase. In 2006, Chandy earned his ninth victory as MLA of Puthupally with a margin of 19,863 votes. However, the United Democratic Front (UDF) lost the elections, and Chandy became the opposition leader.
In 2011, Kerala once again embraced the UDF and Chandy once again became the chief minister. His mass contact programmes went on to become a huge hit during this period, earning international recognitions.
In 2013, Chandy became a recipient of United Nations Award for Public Service. Several mega infrastructure projects were also completed during the term. However, along with bouquets came brickbats. Chandy faced serious allegations in his political career. The 2013 solar panel scam rocked the Kerala politics and allegations were rife that the CMO’s office was misused to dupe people.
However, in 2018, the crime branch appointed by first Pinarayi Vijayan ministry gave Chandy a clean chit, stating there was no evidence against him.
Chandy was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. The leader, who had seen many fights in his life and political career, fought cancer too.