Veteran Communist leader V S Achuthanandan turns 101

Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran Communist leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, hailed as Kerala’s “revolutionary sun” by his followers, turned 101 on Sunday.

Currently leading a retired life at his home here, Achuthanandan’s birthday passed without much celebration this year also.

Leaders including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan extended their birthday greetings to the Communist veteran by sharing photos of Achuthanandan, affectionately called ‘Comrade VS’ by party workers, on their Facebook pages.

Several leaders, including Govindan and ministers V Sivankutty and G R Anil, visited Achuthanandan at his residence.

His son, V A Arun Kumar, said that for every birthday, the family make payasam (a traditional sweet).

This time too, there was payasam, followed by a cake-cutting attended by close family members. There were no other celebrations.

Born on October 20, 1923, in a worker’s family in Punnapra, Alappuzha district, Achuthanandan completed education up to Class VII.

He entered politics through trade union activities in the erstwhile Travancore and joined the State Congress in 1939.

In 1940, he became a member of the Communist Party. As a Communist party member, he faced many challenges, including being imprisoned for five years and six months, and spending four and a half years underground.

In 1964, he was among the 32 leaders who left the CPI National Council to form the CPI(M).

He served as the secretary of the Kerala State Committee of the CPI(M) from 1980 to 1992.

Elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1967, 1970, 1991, and 2001, he also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2005.

In 2006, Achuthanandan won from the Malampuzha constituency and became the 20th Chief Minister of Kerala.