One of the most respected communist leaders of India and former Kerala Chief Minister VS. Achuthanandan died on Monday (July 21, 2025) at the age of 101. State Secretary of CPI -M MV Govindan gave this information.
According to an official bulletin issued by the hospital, the senior leader died during treatment in the intensive medical unit of Pattom SUT Hospital at 3.20 pm. Achuthanandan was being treated after a heart attack on 23 June.
The responsibility of the Chief Minister of Kerala
Achuthanandan, the founder member of the Marxist Communist Party (CPI -M), was in favor of the rights, land reforms and social justice of the workers. He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011 and was elected to the state assembly seven times, of which he was the Leader of Opposition during three terms.
Govindan told reporters at the hospital that the body of Achuthanandan will be taken to the AKG study and research center of Thiruvananthapuram within an hour, where party workers and general public will be able to pay tribute to him.
Durbar hall will be kept on Tuesday for darshan
He told that after night on Monday, the body will be taken to his house. The body will be kept in the court hall on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) in the morning. After this, his body will be taken to his hometown Alappuzha on Tuesday afternoon.
Govindan said that it is expected to reach there by night. On the way, people can gather for the last darshan of their beloved leader. His body will be kept for some time at the party’s district headquarters in Alappuzha. After this, his last rites will be performed on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) at the crematorium in Alappuzha Valia Chudukadu by noon.
Early life was full of difficulty and poverty
Earlier, after receiving the news of the health of the former Chief Minister deteriorating in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and many other CPI -M leaders reached the hospital. Born on October 20, 1923 in the coastal village Punnpara in Alappuzha district, Achuthanandan’s early life was full of difficulty and poverty.
He worked as a laborer in a textile shop for some time and later in a coconut fiber factory. His political journey began in the 1940s inspired by the famous Communist leader P. Krishna Pillai.
Arrested during rebellion
In 1943, he represented Alappuzha at the Communist Party conference. During the 1946 Punnpara-Vayalar rebellion, he went underground and was later arrested and beaten badly.
The police had considered him dead and when he was to be buried in the forest, it was found that he was still alive and was taken to the hospital. Despite suffering torture during the 1946 rebellion, he again returned to active political. In 1956, he joined the state committee of the party and moved to the major national positions continuously.
CPI (M) formed by separating from Communist Party
In 1964, he was among the 32 members of the National Council who separated from the Communist Party and formed a CPI (M), which was a significant turn in Indian leftist politics. The same year he joined the Central Committee of the party and was included in the Polit Bureau in 1985.
When the Left Democratic Front returned to power, he was denied the post of Chief Minister. The party, citing internal decisions, accused him of having a ‘mentality of factionalism’ and chose Pinarayi Vijayan in his place.