Former Kerala chief minister and Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy, whose gates were open at all times to ordinary people as to his political rivals, died at a Bangalore hospital early on Tuesday after battling cancer for more than a year. He was 79.
Chandy had spent the last few months with his immediate family members at the Bangalore home of former Karnataka minister T. John while undergoing treatment at a super-speciality hospital.
The end came at 4.25am on Tuesday at another private hospital, in Indira Nagar, where he was taken on Monday after his condition worsened.
Senior leaders from the Congress and their United Democratic Front allies from Kerala, who were already in Bangalore to attend an Opposition unity meeting, visited the hospital on Tuesday morning before Chandy’s body was taken to John’s house.
There, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin and other senior politicians paid their respects to a man once dubbed the “people’s chief minister”.
Chandy’s body was later flown to Thiruvananthapuram by air ambulance. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday at his native Puthupally in Kottayam district.
The Opposition conclave, held at a hotel, began Tuesday’s proceedings by paying homage to Chandy. The Kerala government declared a holiday at all government offices and educational institutions, and announced three days of mourning with the national flag flying at half-mast.
“I have lost my own brother,” a grieving Ramesh Chennithala, senior Congress lawmaker, said.
“There won’t be another leader in Kerala who made as much contribution as Oommen Chandy. No political leader’s help was required for anyone to meet him at his home at any time. People from any party could meet him and he helped people without looking at their political background.”
Chandy was chief minister from 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016. His pro-people policies, such as free education until higher secondary and free medical care even for complicated health issues, won him huge popularity.
He won the United Nations Global Award for Public Service in 2013 for his mass contact programme that allowed anyone to meet him and air their grievances on certain days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “In the passing away of Shri Oommen Chandy Ji, we have lost a humbleand dedicated leader who devoted his life to public service and worked towards the progress of Kerala. I recall my various interactions with him, particularly when we both served as Chief Ministers of ourrespective states, and later when I moved to Delhi. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this sorrowful hour. May his soul rest in peace.”
Kerala’s CPM chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, described Chandy’s passing as “the end of a very important chapter in Kerala politics”.
Chandy represented the Puthupally Assembly constituency from 1970 for 53 years without a break till his death. He also served as minister four times under various chief ministers, holding key portfolios such as labour, finance and home affairs.
Vijayan recalled: “In 1970, both of us became MLAs on the same day. I was mostly outside the Assembly working for the party, but Oommen Chandy continued to be a member from the day he first took oath (as MLA).”
Many of those paying tribute to Chandy recalled his reluctance to be a Lok Sabha member because of his closeness to his constituents and the ordinary people of Kerala.
As even his political adversaries always acknowledged, the gates of his home in Puthupally and the one in Thiruvananthapuram — which he had named “Puthupally House” — always remained open to anyone.
Chandy was at all times surrounded by people, whether at his home or while travelling in his car. He also made it a point to be in Puthupally with his constituents every Sunday.
Born on October 31, 1943, at Puthupally, Chandy had taken baby steps into politics through a Congress-led students’ movement. He was a law graduate.
Part of a Congress triumvirate that included A.K. Antony and Vayalar Ravi, Chandy remained active in state politics while his contemporaries shifted to Delhi as Union ministers and MPs.
Antony recalled his close friendship with Chandy since 1962. “He has been my best friend since 1962. We never had any secrets: we shared everything. I see this as the biggest loss for Kerala and its people,” a teary-eyed Antony told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.