Former chief minister of Kerala and one of the stalwarts of the state and a very prominent Indian politician, Oommen Chandy passed away early morning today at a private hospital in Bengaluru, India.
Battling cancer, he was undergoing treatment for several months in India and abroad. The 79 old Chandy served as the 10th Chief Minister of Kerala from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.
His body is brought to his house in Thiruvanthapuram and the public will have the opportunity to pay their last respects to the late leader. It will be taken to his native place Puthupally in a procession on Wednesday. His funeral will take place on Thursday at Puthuppally.
Popularly known as OC, Chandy was the man of the masses. Cutting across the political affiliations, all sections of the society had great respect and deep affection for him and his house and the offices were always crowded with people who had represented him with their personal and community needs.
During his second stint as the chief minister, Chandy had launched a mass contact programme to meet people in person and hear their grievances and ensure relief to them. The programme received the United Nations Global Award for Public Service in 2013.
Chandy also holds the record for the longest-serving MLA in the Kerala assembly. He was elected 12 times consecutively from Puthupally constituency from 1970 to 2021, a proof of his popularity and the affection of his electorate.
