Oommen Chandy obituary | Puthupally never broke faith with him

Oommen Chandy , two-time Chief Minister of Kerala, passes away at 79. His 53-yr tenure in Puthupally, genial affability, natural authority & diplomatic sureness of touch helped keep UDF together. He was known for his empathetic approach to governance & coined phrase “fast and far” to highlight govt’s resolve.

Kerala’s two-time Chief Minister and Congress veteran Oommen Chandy, MLA, 79, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Doctors attributed the cause of death to complications arising from a prolonged fight with cancer.

 Mr. Chandy had battled poor health for nearly two years and briefly sought treatment in Germany. However, his condition worsened in recent days, compelling doctors to put him on life support. His death prompted a flood of tributes from leaders across the political spectrum.

Mr. Chandy’s election to the Legislative Assembly from the Puthupally constituency in the Kottayam district catapulted him to the centre stage of Congress politics in Kerala in the 1970s. He served the constituency for the next 53 years. Puthupally never broke faith with him since.

Mr.Chandy was Kerala’s Chief Minister from 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2011. 

Mr. Chandy’s passing could not have come at a worse time for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition buffeted by bickerings, defections, political headwinds and relentless forays by rivals into its Christian-dominated traditional heartlands in Central and North Kerala. 

Mr. Chandy’s genial affability and natural authority gained through five demanding decades in parliamentary politics often helped keep the coalition together, even when its hold on power was tenuous, as in 2011-16 when UDF won the assembly elections by a slender margin.