Oommen Chandy
![]() |
Oommen Chandy | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly for Puthuppally | |
Assumed office 25 May 1970 | |
Preceded by | E. M. George |
Chief Minister of Kerala | |
In office 18 May 2011 – 20 May 2016 | |
Preceded by | V.S. Achuthanandan |
Succeeded by | Pinarayi Vijayan |
Constituency | Puthuppally |
In office 31 August 2004 – 12 May 2006 | |
Preceded by | A. K. Antony |
Succeeded by | V. S. Achuthanandan |
Constituency | Puthuppally |
Minister of Home Affairs, Kerala | |
In office 18 May 2011 – 13 April 2012 | |
Chief Minister | himself |
Preceded by | Kodiyeri Balakrishnan |
Succeeded by | Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan |
In office 31 August 2004 – 12 May 2006 | |
Chief Minister | himself |
Preceded by | A. K. Antony |
Succeeded by | Kodiyeri Balakrishnan |
In office 28 December 1981 – 17 March 1982 | |
Chief Minister | K. Karunakaran |
Preceded by | T.K. Ramakrishnan |
Succeeded by | Vayalar Ravi |
Minister of Finance, Kerala | |
In office 10 November 2015 – 20 May 2016 | |
Chief Minister | himself |
Preceded by | K.M. Mani |
Succeeded by | T.M. Thomas Isaac |
In office 2 July 1991 – 22 June 1994 | |
Chief Minister | K. Karunakaran |
Preceded by | V. Viswanatha Menon |
Succeeded by | C.V. Padmarajan |
Leader of the Opposition of the Kerala Legislative Assembly | |
In office 18 May 2006 – 14 May 2011 | |
Governor | |
Preceded by | V.S. Achuthanandan |
Succeeded by | V.S. Achuthanandan |
General Secretary Indian National Congress | |
Assumed office 06 June 2018 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Puthuppally, Travancore, British India | 31 October 1943
Spouse | Mariamma Oommen |
Children | Chandy Oommen, Maria Oommen and Achu Oommen |
Residence(s) | Puthuppally, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram |
Website | www |
As of 9 April, 2014 Source: [1] |
Oommen Chandy is an Indian statesman and senior leader of the Indian National Congress party. He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016.[1] He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.[2] He has represented Puthuppally as MLA in the State Assembly since 1970. On 6 June 2018 Congress President Rahul Gandhi appointed him as General Secretary of All India Congress Committee in charge of the crucial state of Andhra Pradesh. He is now the Congress Working Committee member .
Early life
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2017) |
Oommen Chandy was born at Kumarakom, Kottayam district, Kerala in 1943.
Chandy ventured into the political arena as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the party. He was the unit president of KSU at St George High School, Puthupally, and went on to become the State President of the organization. Chandy completed his college education from CMS College, Kottayam, St. Berchmans College, Changanassery. Later, he took a bachelor's degree in law (LL.B) from Government Law College, Ernakulam.
Political life
Chandy started his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), which he served as president from 1967 to 1969. He was elected as the president of the State Youth Congress in 1970.
He has represented the Puthuppally Constituency for decades, having been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016. During his legislative career he had also served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee during 1996–98.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Oomman_chandy.jpg/220px-Oomman_chandy.jpg)
Election victories | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Closest rival | Majority (votes) | |
1970 | E.M.George (CPM) | 7,288 | |
1977 | P.C.Cherian (BLD) | 15,910 | |
1980 | M.R.G.Panicker (NDP) | 13,659 | |
1982 | Thomas Rajan (ICS) | 15,983 | |
1987 | V.N.Vasavan (CPM) | 9,164 | |
1991 | V.N.Vasavan (CPM) | 13,811 | |
1996 | Reji Zacharia (CPM) | 10,155 | |
2001 | Cherian Philip(CPM Ind.) | 12,575 | |
2006 | Sindhu Joy (CPM) | 19,863 | |
2011 | Suja Susan George (CPM) | 33,255 | |
2016 | Jaik C Thomas (CPM) | 27,092 |
Minister
Chandy has been a minister in the Government of Kerala on four occasions. He was the Minister for Labour from 11 April 1977 to 25 April 1977 in the first K. Karunakaran Ministry and continued holding the same portfolio in the succeeding first A.K. Antony Ministry till 27 October 1978. He was in the charge of Home portfolio in the second K. Karunakaran Ministry from 28 December 1981 to 17 March 1982. Again, he was sworn in as a minister in the fourth K.Karunakaran Ministry on 2 July 1991. He was in charge of Finance Portfolio and resigned from the cabinet on 22 June 1994 due to difference with the Chief Minister.[citation needed]
Minister in different ministries
No. | Head of the Ministry | Period | Portfolio |
---|---|---|---|
1 | K. Karunakaran | 11 April 1977 – 25 April 1977 | Labour |
2 | A. K. Antony | 27 April 1977 – 27 October 1978 | Labour |
3 | K. Karunakaran | 28 December 1981 – 17 March 1982 | Home |
4 | K. Karunakaran | 2 July 1991 – 22 June 1994 | Finance |
5 | Oommen Chandy | 31 August 2004 – 18 May 2006 | Chief Minister |
6 | Oommen Chandy | 17 May 2011 – 20 May 2016 | Chief Minister |
Chief Minister, 2004 - 2006
The results of the parliamentary elections in May 2004 saw the Indian National Congress not winning a single seat in Kerala. The sitting Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, was forced to resign and accept responsibility for the poor results. On 30 August 2004, Chandy was elected the Congress Legislature Party leader at the end of a meeting by AICC observers and clearance by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. In what may be seen as a reflection of his work as Chief Minister, the Congress-led alliance was defeated, but managed to retain 40 out of 140 seats in the assembly and boost its vote-share by nearly 10% after the general election rout. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2006 following the defeat of his party in 2006 Assembly Elections.
Leader of Opposition
Oommen Chandy was the leader of opposition in the twelfth Kerala Legislative Assembly. Under his leadership UDF marked victories in Lok Sabha Election 2009, gaining 16 out of 20 parliament constituencies in Kerala, and Local Body Election 2010. In the history of Kerala politics it's the first time that the UDF got an upper hand in local body elections.
Leader of Congress Parliamentary Party
After winning the closely contested 2011 assembly election, Congress legislative party unanimously elected Oommen Chandy as its leader. At the Congress Legislature Party meeting, Chandy's name was proposed by, Ramesh Chennithala and seconded by Aryadan Mohammed. The election process was formally launched after Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Mohsina Kidwai and AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, who is in charge of Kerala, held a one-to-one meeting in their capacity as observers with the 38 elected MLAs.
Second term as Chief Minister, 2011-2016
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Kerala_CM_Oomen_Chandy_calls_meets_PM_Modi_on_3_June_2014.jpg/220px-Kerala_CM_Oomen_Chandy_calls_meets_PM_Modi_on_3_June_2014.jpg)
UDF (United Democratic Front) led by Oommen Chandy secured a slender margin in assembly election which held on 13 April 2011. UDF candidates won in 72 seats against 68 seats of LDF (Left Democratic Front). He took the oath on 18 May 2011 with six other ministers of his cabinet. Later thirteen other ministers were also inducted into his cabinet.[citation needed]
He gave up Vigilance Portfolio in early August 2011, after a fresh probe was ordered on the Palmolein oil case, which happened when he was Finance Minister in 1992.[3]
Solar scam
In June 2013, Chandy's personal assistant was arrested for an alleged involvement in the 2013 Kerala solar panel scam.[4]. Opposition parties subsequently demanded Chandy's resignation until the United Democratic Front (UDF) government ordered a judicial inquiry into the scandal.[5].
Awards and honours
Oommen Chandy received the 2013 United Nations Public Service Award[6][7][8] from the Asia-Pacific region, for the category "Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service." The award was presented on 27 June 2013, in Manama, Bahrain, by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. The award was based on the theme "Transformative e-Government and Innovation: Creating a Better Future for All."
References
- ^ "Oommen Chandy's 70th Birthday Special".
- ^ Krishnan, Anantha. "Kerala assembly elections 2011: UDF wins by narrow margin". The Times Of India.
- ^ "Chandy gives up Vigilance portfolio", "The Hindu", August 09, 2011
- ^ "Solar panel scam: Tenny Joppan remanded to judicial custody", "The Hindu", June 29, 2013
- ^ "LDF calls off Secretariat siege ", "The Hindu", August 13, 2013
- ^ "Chandy wins UN Award" The Hindu, Thiruvananthapuram, 26 June 2013.
- ^ "UN Public Administration Programme" UN Public Administration Programme.
- ^ "Chandy Wins UN Award" The Economic Times.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Renewable energy in India
- 2013 crimes in India
- History of Kerala (1947–present)
- Political corruption in India
- Corruption in Kerala
- 1943 births
- Living people
- Politicians from Kottayam
- Chief Ministers of Kerala
- Malayali politicians
- Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala
- Leaders of the Opposition in Kerala
- Chief ministers from Indian National Congress
- Kerala MLAs 1982–87
- Kerala MLAs 1987–91
- Kerala MLAs 1996–2001
- Kerala MLAs 2006–11
- Kerala MLAs 2011–16
- Kerala MLAs 2016–21
- CMS College Kottayam alumni