Oommen Chandy is a prominent Indian National Congress politician in Kerala. He is also a trade unionist and heads several INTUC-affiliated outfits. Born in a middle-class family at Puthuppally, Chandy studied at St. George High School, Puthuppally CMS College and S B College, Changanassery, before taking a degree in law from Government Law College, Ernakulam.
Chandy started his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), which he served as president from 1967 to 1969. He was elected as the president of the State Youth Congress in 1970. He served as Minister for Labour from 11 April1977 to 27 October1978 in A.K. Antony minsitry. When K. Karunakaran-led Congress ministry came in to power in 1981, Chandy became the Minister for Home from 28 December1981 to 17 March1982.
He had been a very prominent figure among the Congress circles in Kerala, but his influence was proven when he resigned as the Finance Minister from the K. Karunakaran ministry in 1994, which ultimately led to the fall of the ministry. Since then, until the time of his taking over as Chief Minister in August 2004, he was seen as playing second fiddle to A.K. Antony within the Congress. He was the convenor of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) from 2001 to 2004, when A.K. Antony was in power. With the latter resigning as the Chief Minister following the UDF rout in the Lok Sabha Elections in 2004, the reins were handed over to Chandy.
He has been representing Puthupally Constituency for the last 36 years. Elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006. He won Assembly elections held on April-May 2006, beating Sindhu Joy of CPI(M) by a margin of 19863 votes. He resigned from office on May 12, 2006 following the defeat of his party in 2006 Assembly Elections.
