Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy passes away at 79

Bengaluru/Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, died in Bengaluru in the early hours of Tuesday, his family said.

He was 79.

The death of the former Kerala chief minister was announced by his son, Chandy Oommen, in a Facebook post.

"Appa has passed away", Oommen wrote on his Facebook page, without elaborating.

The Kerala government has announced Tuesday as a public holiday and two days' mourning as a mark of respect to the late former chief minister.

Congress sources said Chandy died at a private hospital at 4.25 am while undergoing treatment for cancer.

Chandy, who had not been keeping well for quite some time, was staying in Bengaluru for treatment.

He was the chief minister twice for a total of seven years (2004 2006 and again from 2011 2016).

Chandy had also served as Minister of Labour, Home, and Finance in various governments headed by K Karunakaran and A K Antony. He also served as the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly.

Representing Puthuppally constituency, Chandy served as the MLA for more than half a century setting the record for the longest tenure.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, and leaders of various political parties condoled Chandy's demise.