Veteran Communist leader VS Achuthanandan died at the age of 101, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said Monday. Achuthanandan had been ailing in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram since last month after a cardiac arrest on June 23, which was one of the last stalwarts of the CPI(M) founding generation.
His health is very critical in recent days, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Finance Minister KN Balagopal, and other CPI(M) leaders had visited him in the hospital on Monday afternoon to seek his health update.
Vellikakath Sankaran Achuthanandan was born on 20th October 1923 in Punnapra, Alappuzha district, and later on became a giant in the political arena of Kerala. He lived to support social justice, land reforms, as well as rights of workers throughout his life. Achuthanandan joined as a core member of the CPI(M) in the year 1964 when the undivided Communist Party of India split historically.
Achuthanandan was a former chief minister of Kerala, serving in this position between 2006 and 2011. His administration was synonymous with bold actions on anti-corruption drives, environmental protection schemes, and even taking measures to lift the levels of education and health care in the country.
During his political life, Achuthanandan had fought 10 races, of which he won seven. His initial bid was, however, defeated as he contested on the Ambalapuzha assembly constituency in his own home district of Alappuzha. He later became a Member of the Legislative Assembly on several occasions and had great organisational roles in the party.
Between 1980 and 1992, Achuthanandan was the state secretary of the CPI(M), whereby the party increased its grassroots network and the support given to the working classes and the marginalised sections in Kerala.
During the 2011 assembly elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by him won 68 seats out of the total 140 with a narrow margin over the United Democratic Front (UDF).
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