Oommen Chandy, former Chief Minister of Kerala passed away at the age of 79 at a hospital in Bengaluru where he had been undergoing treatment for cancer. His death was announced by his son Chandy Oommen in a Facebook post at around 4.30 AM. The Kerala government announced two days of mourning and declared a public holiday on Tuesday. A massive outpouring of condolences and visits followed and photos were flooded on social media of leaders across the political spectrum visiting the Chinmaya Mission Hospital in Bengaluru to commiserate with his family.
Outlook looks back on the truly remarkable life of a man who was truly the leader of the masses.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy served two terms in office, from 2004 to 2006 and then from 2011 to 2016. A veteran Congressman, he was a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), and also Kerala's longest-serving legislator serving from 1970 until his death today, an extraordinary achievement in Indian politics.
Born in Puthupally, the constituency he would represent until his death, Chandy got his break as a student leader. He graduated in law and joined politics as a student leader with the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress Party in the state. He went on to become a Youth Congress President and then a member of the national party. There, he made his name as a massive crowd-puller and a man who was for the people.
An accomplished statesman, he will be remembered for the compassion and care that he always had for those with less. Although he never held office for a full term, his decisions ensured that he left his mark. As Labour minister, he granted unemployment allowance to thousands and thousands of people, one of his many historic decisions. He would go on to take many more, which had a lasting impact on the state from stabilising its finances at times of crisis to pushing through major initiatives.
Despite the many offices he held and roles he served, Chandy was always a man of the people and never lost his compassion for them, nor his touch with them, becoming a massive crowd-puller. During his second stint, he launched a massive contact program, where he met directly with the people without any middleman, to hear their grievances and address them personally. He met thousands across the state, a remarkable programme that highlighted real democracy. For this, he received the United Nations Global Award for Public Service in 2013. He will be remembered fondly as the leader who reached out to his masses.
Politically, Chandy was a staunch Congressman and would go on to become one of the party's most important veteran leaders. He would lead many mass movements, and later become a general secretary of the AICC and a Working Committee Member. He used his connection with the people and unique public acceptance to further the party's cause, achieving the rare feat in Indian politics of winning from the same constituency 10 times in a row.
Perhaps the best way to reflect the immense regard in which Chandy was held, is to remember that he was no electoral juggernaut, nor a man given much to political craftsmanship. That he would go on to become the longest-serving legislator and win ten times in a row from his constituency still is the clearest reflection of what the people thought of him.
As in life, Oommen Chandy will be honoured in death and remembered as he would like to be. A leader of the masses.
