Oommen Chandy's demise: Tributes have poured in from all across the country as former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy breathed his last on Tuesday morning. He was 79 years old. The former Chief Minister was staying in Bengaluru for treatment at a health facility as he was not keeping well for quite some time.
Reacting to Chandy's demise, the incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called him a capable administrator and a person who was closely associated with the people of the state. , "Oommen Chandy was a capable administrator and a person who was closely involved in people's lives," Vijayan stated.
Meanwhile, Kerala Congress also paid homage to its "most beloved leader." "Extremely sad to bid farewell to our most beloved leader and former CM Shri. Oommen Chandy. One of the most popular and dynamic leaders of Kerala, Chandy sir was loved across generations and sections of the population. The Congress family will miss his leadership and energy (sic)," it wrote on Twitter.
Born in October 1943, Chandy served as the 10th Chief Minister of Kerala. He was also considered as one of the finest leaders of Congress in the state. Chandy ventured into the political arena as an activist of Kerala's Largest Students Organization Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress party. He was the unit president of the KSU at St. George High School, Puthupally, and went on to become the State President of the organization.
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Oommen Chandy: Know all about him
- Oomen Chandy started his political career through Kerala Students Union where he served as president from 1967 to 1969
- He was elected as the president of the State Youth Congress in 1970
- He represented Puthuppally constituency as MLA in the State Assembly since 1970
- He served as Kerala CM from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016
- He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly from 2006 to 2011
- He also holds the record of being the longest-serving MLA in the Kerala Legislative Assembly
- Chandy was the only Indian Chief Minister to achieve the award for public service from United Nations
- He was also a minister in the Government of Kerala on four occasions
- Chandy also attended the 35th World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland in 2006
- He was the Congress Working Committee member in his last days
