V.S. Achuthanandan hospitalised after cardiac arrest; condition stable

Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran Communist Party leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was hospitalised on Monday after suffering a cardiac arrest. The 101-year-old leader, who has been confined to his son’s home in Thiruvananthapuram for the past few years due to age-related ailments, is currently reported to be in stable condition, according to the medical team overseeing his treatment.

CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan confirmed that Achuthanandan's condition is stable.

Achuthanandan served as Kerala’s Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011 and subsequently held the post of Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2016. Despite leading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to a resounding victory in the 2016 Assembly elections, he was overlooked for the top post in favour of Pinarayi Vijayan. Following intervention by the CPI(M) national leadership, Achuthanandan was appointed Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee with Cabinet rank.

Due to declining health, he stepped down from the committee in January 2021 and has remained indoors since.

Achuthanandan's political career saw both triumphs and setbacks. In 1996, when he was widely expected to become Chief Minister, he suffered a major electoral defeat to Congress candidate P.J. Francis in Mararikulam, Alappuzha — a constituency considered his stronghold. Following this loss, he shifted base to Malampuzha in Palakkad district, from where he successfully contested four subsequent Assembly elections, with his final electoral battle taking place in 2016.

His long-standing rivalry with Pinarayi Vijayan has been a defining feature of Kerala’s political landscape, especially during Achuthanandan’s tenure as Chief Minister. The discord between the two leaders became particularly pronounced during the 2006–2011 period.

His hospitalisation comes at a politically sensitive time for the CPI(M), following its defeat in the Nilambur Assembly bypoll where party candidate M. Swaraj lost. Notably, Swaraj had once courted controversy during the height of the Vijayan-Achuthanandan standoff by stating that Achuthanandan “deserved capital punishment” for his outspoken criticisms.

P.J. Francis, the Congress leader who defeated Achuthanandan in 1996, passed away just last week.

With IANS inputs