Veteran Congress leader and two-time Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, passed away in the early hours of Tuesday in Bengaluru, confirmed by his family.

The 79-year-old politician was undergoing cancer treatment at a private hospital when he died at 4.25 am, according to Congress sources.

The announcement of Oommen Chandy’s death was made by his son, Chandy Oommen, via a Facebook post stating, “Appa has passed away.” The late politician had been in poor health for some time and was receiving treatment in Bengaluru.

In honor of the late former chief minister, the Kerala government declared Tuesday a public holiday and announced two days of mourning. Chandy held the chief minister’s office twice, serving for a total of seven years, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016.

In addition to his terms as chief minister, Oommen Chandy had diverse ministerial roles, including Minister of Labour, Home, and Finance, in governments led by K Karunakaran and A K Antony. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly. As a representative of the Puthuppally constituency, he set the record for the longest tenure as an MLA, serving for more than 50 years.

Prominent figures, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan, and Union Minister V Muraleedharan, among other political leaders, have expressed their condolences over Chandy’s demise.

  Bengaluru, Congress I, Kerala, Oommen Chandy