Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy Dies: They Don't Make Leaders Like These Anymore

Congress veteran Oommen Chandy was 79. He had been CM of Kerala twice and an MLA since 1970.

Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy passed away on 18 July.

(Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Producer: Aditya Menon

Video Editor: Mohd. Irshad Alam

Former Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy passed away in Bengaluru on the morning of 18 July. He was 79. The news was shared by his son Chandy Oommen on Facebook. "Appa has passed away," Chandy Oommen wrote at 4.30 AM.

The former CM had been ailing for over three years. He was under treatment in Berlin’s Charite Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram’s NIMS Medicity and Bengaluru’s Health Care Global Enterprises.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan expressed grief at Chandy's demise, saying "We were elected to the Legislative Assembly in the same year. It was at the same stage that we came into politics through student life. We led public life at the same time and it is extremely difficult to bid him farewell. Oommen Chandy was a capable administrator and a person who was closely involved in people's lives".

From Student Politics to CM

• Oommen Chandy was born in Puthupally in 1943 and entered politics as a student leader in the 1960s under the Kerala Students' Union. the Congress' students' wing in Kerala. He did a BA in Economics followed by an LLB degree.

• He was first elected as an MLA from Puthupally in Kottayam district in 1970 and remained undefeated from there for over five decades. He holds the record for being the longest serving MLA in Kerala and one of the longest in the country.

• Chandy became Kerala's labour minister from 1977 to 1978, home minister from 1981-82 and finance minister from 1991-94. He later became convenor of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala.

• In the factional politics of the Congress in Kerala, he is known to have been a loyalist of AK Antony.

When Antony moved to the Centre as defence minister in 2004, Oommen Chandy became the CM of Kerala.

Oommen Chandy with Rahul Gandhi at the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

(Oommen Chandy Facebook Page)

• Though the Congress-led UDF lost power in 2006, Chandy led the alliance to victory in 2011 and became CM again, this time for a full five-year term. Both his terms saw the implementation of key welfare schemes and infrastructure projects in Kerala.

• In 2018, Chandy was brought to national politics as the Congress' general secretary in-charge for Andhra Pradesh.

Known for His Humility and Respected Even By Rivals

Chandy was famous for his humility and leading a simple life, despite being a two-time CM and a legislator for over 50 years.

An incident that got talked about a lot in Kerala took place in 2016 when passengers in a bus from Kollam to Thiruvananthapuram found Oommen Chandy travelling with them. This was a few months after he demitted office as CM. The same year a photo of Chandy lying down on the lower berth of a sleeper class compartment in a Thiruvananthapuram-Kottayam train went viral.

Even as CM, he is said to have travelled to Delhi from Kerala by train on a few occasions.

During his first term as CM from 2004 to 2006, Chandy didn't even move in to the CM's residence at Thiruvananthapuram's Cliff House and chose to stay at his own residence 'Puthupally House'. When he did move in during his second term, Chandy and his wife used only a small part of the residence and lived frugally.

Chandy faced allegations of corruption in what was called the Solar Scam by his rivals but he was later acquitted of all charges. A group of CPI-M workers attacked Chandy and pelted his car with stones during the thick of the controversy in 2013. One of the accused later quit the CPI-M and is reported to have met Chandy to express regrets on what had happened.

Chandy, too, on his part forgave the attacker.

The former CM is survived by his wife Mariamma, two daughters and a son. His son, Chandy Oommen, is a Youth Congress leader and had walked barefoot during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.