The electoral loss of the 1967 Assembly election triggered sporadic laments about the Congress’ decline in Kerala. Its representation in the State Assembly came down to nine out of 133 seats and the party was confronting disturbing questions about its future in the State.
Into that vacuum jumped a new crop of youngsters, under A.K. Antony, Vayalar Ravi and Oommen Chandy, who revived the organisation through a series of protests that rocked the State. What they brought in, as a group, were some distinct perspectives that helped restore the reputation of the Congress and alter the political dynamics of Kerala forever.
Over the next few decades, they would go so much together, forming the backbone of the Congress in the State, planning and organising protests against the State administration on various issues and other party activities that saw them leapfrogging into the mainstream politics.
Maiden win
In another three years, Mr. Chandy registered his maiden win from Puthuppally in September 1970 and since has emerged as the undisputed leader of the Assembly constituency. With his ability to maintain composure amidst crisis situations, he went onto become an undisputed leader of the Congress first in Kottayam and then in Kerala as a whole.
Oommen Chandy obituary | Puthupally never broke faith with him
Veteran Congress leader and legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan seeks to attribute the meteoric rise of Mr. Chandy within the ranks of the Congress to the leadership skills that he had developed during the Youth Congress days.
“I have seen him standing rock solid in many a difficult situations: while coordinating the tsunami rescue operations in Karunagapally, when dealing with the evictees of Moollampilly island or even when insulted by the Opposition in most unseemly fashions. He is always switched on and feels the responsibility for the electorate day and night’’, observed Mr. Radhakrishnan.
But it is his skill of political pragmatism that has inspired Mr. Radhakrishnan to the most. “The way he secured the 302-acre revenue land in Kambakkallu in Idukki which had long been a camp for marijuana cultivators and later handed it over to the Forest department in lieu of the land for constructing a camp for Sabarimala pilgrims is one among the several examples to be cited,’‘ he added.
Born on October 31, 1943 as the son of K.O. Chandy and Baby Chandy couple in Karottu Vallakkalil at Puthuppally, Mr. Chandy, fondly called Kunjoonju, pursued an undergraduate degree in law. Having joined the Kerala Students Union at a young age, he was appointed Kottayam district secretary of the student organisation in 1962 and was elevated as its State president five years later. He then went onto become the State president of the Youth Congress in 1969.
During his tenure as the longest serving legislator of the Kerala Assembly and as Minister handling several portfolios, Mr. Chandy was credited with so many achievements. The Budget that he presented in 1991 as Finance Minister is widely regarded as a milestone in the State’s development.
He was instrumental in making the State government bear the cost of pre-degree education and starting low-cost international air services from all airports in Kerala.
In 2013, the Kerala Chief Minister’s office led by Mr. Chandy won the United Nations award for public service at the global level for its massive public outreach programme.
