Kerala declares two-day state mourning on Oommen Chandy's death

Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy died in Bengaluru in the early hours of Tuesday. 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. Oommen Chandy represented the Puthupally constituency in Kottayam district for more than 50 years. He was the MLA from Puthupally. Chandy first represented Puthupally in 1970 when he was the Youth Congress president. He became a minister for the first time in the K Karunakaran cabinet in 1977. He was appointed Chief Minister twice. He had handled the finance portfolio in the state. He had also been the Leader of Opposition. Oommen Chandy is survived by his wife Mariamma and children Maria Oommen, Chandy Oommen and Achu Oommen.