Senior Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy passes away

Former Kerala Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy passed away in the early hours of Tuesday. He was 79.

Chandy was undergoing treatment for throat cancer for quite some time. Over the last few months, he was in Bengaluru for treatment. His son Chandy Oommen informed about his father's death through a social media post around 5 am on Tuesday. 

"Appa has passed away", Oommen wrote on his Facebook page, without elaborating.

The Kerala government has announced Tuesday as a public holiday and two days' mourning as a mark of respect to the late former chief minister.

Oommen Chandy has been serving as MLA in Kerala in a row since 1970. He was representing his home town Puthupally in the Kottayam district. He won the Assembly elections 12 times in a row. 

Chandy served as Kerala's Chief Minister from 2004 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2016. He was a mass leader and was widely hailed for his close contacts with the people. The mass contact programme organised during his tenure as Chief Minister brought immediate solutions to long pending grievances of hundreds of people. 

He also served as minister in K Karunakaran and A K Antony governments and held finance, home and labour portfolios. 

Chandy was made AICC general secretary in 2018. He also served as opposition leader in Kerala Assembly from 2006 to 2011. He often preferred to remain in state politics. 

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, and leaders of various political parties condoled Chandy's demise.

Chandy leaves behind wife Mariamma Oommen, son Chandy Oommen and daughters Maria and Achu. 

(With PTI inputs)