Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy, who served as Chief Minister of Kerala twice, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru in the wee hours of July 18. Chandy, 79, had not been keeping well for quite some time and was staying in Bengaluru since November last year. He was ailing from throat cancer.
As a mark of respect, the Kerala government announced a two-day mourning will be observed in the state. Chandy will go down in the history of Kerala Assembly records as the longest-serving legislator in the state.
He won his first election in 1970 from his home constituency Puthupally in Kottayam district. When he passed away, he was the sitting legislator from the same constituency and was an MLA for an uninterrupted 53 years.
Condolences started to pour in as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recalled his association with Chandy as they both made their debut in the Kerala Assembly in 1970. “We started our political journey together through student politics and continued a very long way. Chandy was always with the people and it’s tough to say goodbye to him,” said Vijayan.