Oommen Chandy: Mass leader and UDF's solution man
Congress establishment, led by party President Mallikarjun Kharge, the Gandhis and other political leaders, paid glowing tributes to Congress stalwart and former two-time Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who died on early Tuesday morning at a city hospital here, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer. He was 79.
In the death of the AICC general secretary and CWC member, the Congress has lost one of its towering generals and party's biggest mass leader in Kerala in the post K Karunakaran era. Known for his prowess in power politics, pragmatic approach, tireless work for the party and in touching the life of the common people both as chief minister and frontline leader, Chandy was an MLA for a record 50-plus years having had 12 electoral victories from his Puthuppally citadel.
His illness had forced him to take a break from active politics towards the end. Chandy's long political career presented before the Kerala people, and also to the aspiring politicians across party lines, a model in mastery of power politics, for the dedication he showed in reaching out and thriving among the masses and for the simple life he lived by braving the trappings of power.
He excelled as Kerala Congress' all-weather 'pragmatist' and 'solution man', who also made pivotal contributions in building and positioning the United Democratic Front as Kerala's bulwark against the Communists. The stature and the public faith he earned helped Chandy come out unscathed when the Marxists stooped to hurl the 'Saritha solar scam' at him only to see the subsequent investigations finding no evidence against him.
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