K. Karunakaran

Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010), was an Indian politician who served as the fifth chief minister of Kerala in 1977, from 1981 to March 1982, from May 1982 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995.

He is the founder of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition, which has been the main opposition in Kerala.

Karunakaran was close to former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Karunakaran was born on 5 July 1918 in Chirakkal near Kannur to Thekkedathu Ravunni Marar an Ambalavasi, and his mother was Nair, Kannoth Kalyani Amma.

He had two elder brothers, Kannoth Kunjirama Marar and Kannoth Balakrishna Marar; a younger brother, Kannoth Damodara "Appunni" Marar; and a sister, Devaki, who died when Karunakaran was five years old.

His father was a record keeper in the erstwhile Malabar District.

During his childhood, Karunakaran was an expert in swimming, painting, football and volleyball.

Though he was named Karunakara Marar, he later dropped his caste title, and came to be known just by his given name.

Karunakaran began his education at Vadakara Government Lower Primary School in 1923.

Later, he studied in Andallur Government School and Raja's High School near his home in Chirakkal.

After graduating high school, he went to Thrissur and enrolled at the fine arts college, where he obtained degrees in painting and mathematics.

For treating an eye disorder, he went to his maternal uncle's home in Vellanikkara near Thrissur, along with his elder brother Kunjirama Marar.

In 1937, Karunakaran joined the flood relief camps that were conducted by V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, C. Achutha Menon, R.M.Manakkalath and other leaders of Prajamandalam, an early freedom movement in Kochi.

He became a member of the INC and began to wear khadi.

He also participated intensively in trade union activities in the vast Thattil rubber estates where his uncle Raghavan Nair was a writer.

During this time he used his artistic skills and labour to help the workers' union, which would become the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), with their posters and campaigns.

Gradually, he was picked up by Panampilly Govinda Menon as his favourite follower.

Eventually, Karunakaran rose to the level of senior leader of the INTUC, which became one of the largest trade unions in India with over 33 million members.

He went on to become INC's Thrissur District Committee President, after which he was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly twice before the formation of Kerala State.

Later, he married his uncle's daughter Kalyanikkutty Amma in 1954 at Guruvayoor Temple, when he was 36 and she was 30.

Their children are Congress politicians K. Muraleedharan and Padmaja Venugopal.

He contested the 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections against trade unionist and ex-INC member Dr. A. R. Menon, going onto to lose by around two thousand votes.

After a career of both achievements and setbacks in his 30s and most of his 40s, K. Karunakaran was allotted a ticket to contest from a Communist stronghold, Thrissur's Mala constituency, considered a "safe seat" for the Left, in the 1965 Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections.

To the astonishment of most political observers, 47-year-old K. Karunakaran defeated the Communist candidate by more than 3000 votes, and went on to represent the constituency in seven successive elections: 1967, 1970, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, and 1991.

The VIP pavilion in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi is named in his honour.

In 1967, when Karunakaran was elected to the State Legislature for the first time, the Congress was at its lowest ebb in the state having been routed in the election with just 9 legislators on its side (less than the 10 percent strength which is now mandatory to be recognized as the official opposition party).

The defeat of many veteran leaders paved the way for Karunakaran to take up the mantle of the Leader of Opposition.

Karunakaran quickly adapted to the role with his dexterous and Machiavellian capabilities putting the EMS Namboodiripad ministry on its toes despite the massive majority it enjoyed in the assembly.

In 1969, Karunakaran faced a severe setback when the Congress legislature party vertically split, leaving Karunakaran with the support of just 5 MLAs.

However, Karunakaran, always a master strategist bided his time and played a crucial role in the overthrow of the Namboodiripad ministry and the subsequent formation of a coalition with the new Chief Minister, C. Achutha Menon.

By the mid-term elections, the Congress had recovered significantly under Karunakaran and emerged as the largest party post the elections.

Although Karunakaran could have technically staked a claim for Chief Ministership in 1970, he chose not to do so, being aware of Achutha Menon's administrative capabilities and visionary ideas for the state.

Instead, he went to become the Home Minister in the cabinet, by virtue of which he was the de-facto deputy in the cabinet

In 1977, following the National Emergency, when the Congress was swept out of power across the nation, Karunakaran led the Congress-coalition government to a landslide victory securing 111 seats in the 1977 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections.

At the peak of his career in the 1980s and 1990s, he enjoyed considerable access, confidence and control at the All India Congress Committee (AICC), such that he had an important role in helping P. V. Narasimha Rao become Prime Minister of India.

He played a crucial role in nurturing and strengthening the INC into a strong political party in Kerala and enjoyed mass support of not just party workers but the entire anti-communist bloc that was active in Kerala.

He is also credited with bringing development to multiple sectors in Kerala by spearheading key projects, including Kochi Airport, the country’s first public-private international airport, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, and Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.

On 3 June 1992, during his last term as Chief Minister, he had a near fatal car accident on his way to Thiruvananthapuram.

He recovered after prolonged treatment in both India and the US.

In the next year, his wife died following a heart ailment.