Editorial: Man of the Masses

Chandy stood for the people while fighting for what he believed was for the people, and the people stood by him

Oommen Chandy, or OC as those close to him addressed him, was always about people. He stood for the people, often rubbing many in his own party on the wrong side while fighting for what he believed was for the people. And the people stood by him, sending him to the Assembly for them, 12 times over a period of 53 years. That enabled him to leave a political record that could be hard to beat. From 1970, when he first contested to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, till July 18, 2023, when he breathed his last, he was always an MLA. That too, from the same constituency of Puthuppally in Kottayam district. Twice the Chief Minister, Chandy was different from the usual leader because one could easily gain access to him, at any time. He seemed to be at his energetic best when surrounded by the people, always smiling, and listening intently to what each and every person had to say. And that was one factor that made his mass contact programme a huge success. Launched during his second stint as Chief Minister, the programme saw him travelling across the State, sitting for hours together and many a time, past midnight, to receive petitions from people directly. The initiative won the United Nations Global Award for Public Service in 2013.

Chandy also stood apart from others in his party on account of his political aspirations, which never went beyond Kerala. Even as seniors and contemporaries like AK Antony and Vayalar Ravi, and the younger generation, including Ramesh Chennithala and KC Venugopal, went on to become Union ministers or hold national posts, Chandy preferred to stay put in Kerala as an MLA. His political acumen was never in question, his tactics and diplomacy often holding together the party and the United Democratic Front which it led. The manner in which his government of 2011, which had come to power with a majority of just four seats, completed the five-year term without being toppled, will remain a credit to him, given how coalitions with higher majorities are dethroned quite easily these days. For the people of Puthuppally, ‘Kunjunju’, as the elder generation called him affectionately, was always one of them. Sundays would see him at the Puthuppally Church, not in the front row, but somewhere in the back of the church, often sitting on the floor, or near the door. For weddings or functions to which he was invited, he would slip into the crowd and stand silently, the sudden realisation that the Chief Minister was standing next to you often took many by surprise. The church is paying tribute to him by arranging a special place in its cemetery, where he will be laid to rest on Thursday. His last wish too, was to be considered one among the people. According to his son Chandy Oommen, before leaving for Germany for treatment for his throat cancer, Chandy had told his wife that his funeral should be held without state honours, and that he should be laid to rest like any other commoner. The Kerala Assembly, which will reconvene on August 7, will for the first time, since 1970, meet without Oommen Chandy. The only time he was absent from the Assembly for an entire session was from January 23 to March 30, when his failing health kept him away.

---