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Oommen Chandy Biography 

Oommen Chandy (born 31 October 1943 – died 18 July 2023) was the former Chief Minister of Kerala and one of the senior leaders of the Indian National Congress. Oommen Chandy, who completed 50 years as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 2020, was the Chief Minister of Kerala for seven years, twice in 2004–2006 and 2011–2016.

In addition, he has also served as Minister of Labor (1977–1978), Minister of Home Affairs (1982), Minister of Finance (1991–1994), and Leader of the Opposition (2006–2011). From 1970 to 2021, he was the Puthupalli Elected as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly for twelve consecutive terms.

He was currently a member of the Congress Working Committee and was also holding the charge of the All India Congress General Secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh. He also holds the record for the longest tenure as a member of the Legislative Assembly. He died on 18 July 2023. In this article, we will get to know about various aspects of Oommen Chandy's life such as early life, education, family, political journey, wife, children, and legacy. Please read the article till the end.

Detail	Information
Name	Oommen Chandy
Born	31 October 1943
Birthplace	Puthupalli in Koyattam district, Kerala, India
Age	79 years at the time of death
Father	Kumarkat Oommen Chandy
Mother	Baby Chandi
Career	Politician
Marital Status	Married
Wife	Mariamma
Children	Mariyam, Achu Oommen, and Chandi Oommen
Major Achievement	Longest (50) Member of the Legislature
Death	Jul 18, 2023
Cause of Death	Cancer
Place of Death	Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Bangalore

Early life and education of Oommen Chandy

Oommen Chandy was born on October 31, 1943, in Puthupalli, Koyattam district. His father's name was Kumarkat Oommen Chandy and his mother's name was Baby Chandy. After his education at St. George's High School, Pudupalli, Kottayam CMS, attended Changanassery SB College and completed his graduation. He also earned a law degree from Ernakulam Law College. He died of cancer on 18 July 2023 at 4:25 am while undergoing treatment at Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Bangalore.

Personal Life-Wife and Children

The book "Kunjunnuen Kathalin - Odhu Namu" by PT Chacko is a book written by Oommen Chandy with interesting moments of his life, who was the press secretary. Oommen Chandy's wife is Mariyamma, a native of Alappuzha Karuvata, who was a Canara Bank officer. They have three children - Mariam, Achu Oommen, and Chandi Oommen.

Oommen Chandy - Political Journey

Oommen Chandy was a great organizer and leader. His typical political style was to resolve complex issues quickly.

While studying in school, he entered politics through KSU, the student organization of the Congress. Oommen Chandy's political career has ranged from being the president of the KSU unit of St. George's High School Pudupalli to becoming the Chief Minister of Kerala. He also served as the State President of Kerala Balajanasakhya. Later he became the State President of KSU and Youth Congress organizations and then became a member of AICC (All India Congress Committee).

The political journey from 1970 to 2023. Oommen Chandy's first electoral challenge was from the Pudupalli constituency. CPM MLA E.M. He defeated George by more than 7,000 votes and was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the first time. In all subsequent assembly elections (1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021) he contested from Puthupalle.

In 1977 K. Karunakaran's cabinet and in 1978 A.K. He also became the labor minister in the Antony cabinet. He was the Home Minister in Karunakaran's cabinet during 1981–1982. Karunakaran became the Finance Minister in the 1991–1995 cabinet.

In the 1980s, when the Anthony Section (A) group was formed in the Congress Party in Kerala, Oommen Chandy became the leader of the Legislature Party. In 1982, he became the convenor of the United Democratic Front.

In 2004 A.K. When Antony resigned from the post of Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy was elected the Chief Minister of Kerala for the first time. He remained the chief minister until the UDF was defeated in the 2006 assembly elections. Oommen Chandy, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the 12th Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2006, when V.S. Achuthanandan was the chief minister, later he was re-elected as the chief minister when the UDF won the 2011 assembly elections. He came to power with the support of only two MLAs and completed his five-year term in 2016.

Oommen Chandy has played a major role in the development of Kerala as a Kerala state minister. The budget presented in 1991 when he was the Finance Minister is a milestone in the development of Kerala. Oommen Chandy's reforms included making graduate education cost-effective for the government and introducing low-cost international air services from all airports in Kerala. It was due to his efforts that the Vallarpadam Container Terminal started functioning, Vizhinjam Port became a reality and the Kochi Metro service started. It is his contribution that he has decided to pay welfare pensions like agricultural labor pensions and unemployment benefits every month.

In January 2006, a Chief Minister from Kerala attended the 35th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a record holder for the first time in history.

50 years tenure as a member of the Legislature

In the 1970 assembly elections, Oommen Chandy was elected for the first time against E.M. George, who was the Left Front candidate from Pudupalli constituency, became a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly by defeating him by 7258 votes. Later in the elections held in 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, Oommen Chandy was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Pudupalli. In 1977 K. After the cabinet led by Karunakaran, A.K. He was also the labor minister in Antony's cabinet. Unemployment allowance was implemented during his tenure. He was the Home Minister in Karunakaran's cabinet from December 1981 to March 1982.

Oommen Chandy was one of the key leaders of the Antony faction that emerged within the Congress in the early eighties. For two years he worked with Antony outside the official Congress leadership.

In 1982 he left the Left Front and A.K. He returned to the Congress with Antony and became the Deputy Leader of the Legislative Assembly. Thereafter he concentrated on organizational activities for several years. During this period he joined the U.D.F. got included in.

Also served as Convener (1982-86). In 1991, he became the Finance Minister in Karunakaran's cabinet. This was the period when the slum turn was strong among the Karunakaran-Anthony factions within the party. In 1994, Oommen Chandy resigned as a minister challenging Karunakaran in the problems that arose after MA Kuttappan was denied a Rajya Sabha seat.

Public relations program

After becoming the Chief Minister for the first time in 2004, Oommen Chandy implemented a grievance redressal mechanism called Public Outreach. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the Chief Minister of Kerala, interacted directly with people everywhere regardless of politics, and worked tirelessly to find permanent solutions to their problems.

During his chief ministership in 2004–2006 and 2011–2016, he successfully implemented the public relations program. This was strongly opposed by the opposition, but through his public relations program, he established himself as a popular chief minister in the minds of the common people.

As Chief Minister of Kerala

In 2001, when the AK Antony-led cabinet came to power, Oommen Chandy again took over as the UDF convener. Three years later, AK Antony took responsibility for the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, and Antony resigned. Then on 31 August 2004, Oommen Chandy became the Chief Minister of Kerala.

He continued in this post till May 2006. After the UDF failure in the 2006 assembly elections, the Oommen Chandy-led cabinet resigned and V.S. The cabinet led by Achuthanandan came to power. He served as the Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2011.

The UDF again won a majority in the assembly elections held in April 2011, and on 18 May 2011, Oommen Chandy took office as the twenty-first Chief Minister of Kerala for the second time. Apart from General Administration, he also had the charge of the Home, Vigilance, Science and Technology, and Environment Department. But when the court ordered a vigilance inquiry against Oommen Chandy in the Palm Oil case, on 9 August 2011 he handed over the charge of the vigilance department to Thiruvanjoor Radhakrishnan.

On 12 April 2012, after the reshuffle of Congress ministers, he also handed over the charge of the Home Department to Travancore. But due to this cabinet reshuffle, some protests started within the Congress party itself.

Awards and honors

While Chief Minister in 2013, his office received an award from the United Nations for public service at the global level. The award was given for the public relations program of the Chief Minister.

Criticism and Accusation

In June 2013, Chandy's personal assistant was arrested in connection with the solar panel scam. In the solar case, Oommen Chandy was facing allegations of scam and sex. But former Kerala Congress leader B.Manoj Kumar revealed in late November 2020 that Oommen Chandy's name was written in the letter of the complainant in the solar case with the intervention of former minister Ganesh Kumar. Reacting to the new revelations through the media, Oommen Chandy said that more truth regarding the matter is yet to come out.

Year	Position	Details
2022	Longest-serving MLA (52 years)	Puthupalli Constituency
2020	MLA (50 years)	Puthupalli Constituency
2011-2016	Chief Minister	-
2006-2011	Leader of the Opposition	-
2004-2006	Chief Minister	-
2001-2004	UDF Convener	-
1991-1994	Minister of Finance	-
1982-1986	UDF Convener	-
1982	Home Minister	-
1977-1978	Minister of Labor	-
Since 1970	MLA - Pudupalli Constituency	-
1969	Youth Congress State President	-
1967	KSU State President	-
1965	KSU State General Secretary	-
1962-1963	KSU Kottayam District Secretary	-