Thomas Chandy
Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala
In office
1 April 2017 (2017-04-01) – 15 November 2017 (2017-11-15)
Preceded byA. K. Saseendran
Succeeded byA. K. Saseendran
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
2006 (2006) – 20 December 2019 (2019-12-20)
ConstituencyKuttanad
Personal details
Born(1947-10-29)29 October 1947
Chennamkary, Kingdom of Travancore, Dominion of India
(present day Alappuzha, Kerala, India)
Died20 December 2019(2019-12-20) (aged 72)
Kadavanthra, Kochi, Kerala, India
Political partyNationalist Congress Party
SpouseMercy Chandy
Children3

Thomas Chandy (29 October 1947 – 20 December 2019)[1][2] was an Indian businessman and politician. He was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Kuttanad constituency, the transport minister of the state of Kerala, and president of the Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala. He resigned from the minister's office on 15 November 2017 after an allegation regarding his resort in Alappuzha arose. He died in Kochi on 20 December 2019 from cancer.

Personal life

Thomas Chandy was born on 29 October 1947, one of the sons of V. C. Thomas and Aleyamma Thomas at Chennamkary. He was educated at Devamatha High School in Chennamkary, St. Mary's HS Kainakary[3] and at Leo XIII English Medium School in Alappuzha.[4] He had a diploma in Telecommunication Engineering from the Institute of Engineering Technology, Alleppey.[5] He was married to Mercy Chandy.[6]

Death

Chandy died from cancer on 20 December 2019, at age 72.[7][8]

Political career

He started his political career in the KSU and was later selected as the President of the KSU and Youth Congress in Kuttanad, in 1970. After re-entering politics actively, he aligned himself with the DIC(K) of which he was the lone MLA as a part of the UDF in the 2006 elections,[9] which later merged with the NCP and then aligned with the LDF for the 2011 elections. Based on the declaration of assets filed at the time of the elections,[10] he was the richest MLA in the Assembly with assets of over 920 million Indian rupees.[11]

Election Victories
YearClosest rivalVotes polled
2006Dr. KC Joseph KEC[12]42,109
2011Dr. KC Joseph (KEC-M)[13]60,010
2016Jacob Abraham (KC-M)50,114

Business career

Chandy had interests in the fields of education and hospitality among others. He was the Chairman of the United Indian School,[14] an Indian public school, and Indian Central School[15] in Kuwait. He also ran Al-Alia International Indian School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[16] Chandy also owned a controlling interest in the Lake Palace Resort, located on the Punamada Lake in Kerala.[17]

Allegations

A media report alleged that Chandy did not declare his true property value in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India. He was accused of encroachment on Punnamada Lake at his resort in Alappuzha by keeping buoys afloat. It was later found by the District Collector that he had attained the necessary permissions from the government authorities in the state to keep the buoys afloat to keep waste away from the resort. It was also found that no one had complained about mobility rights within the buoy area over the years.[18]

An allegation was raised against Chandy in October 2017 that he constructed a resort and a road to it illegally by filling in a water channel and paddy field in the ecologically fragile lower Kuttanad region. Initial reports from the district administration went against him and, as of August 2018, the probe was still going on.

Social activism

He was a social worker both in Kuwait and Kerala. In Kuwait, he was involved with a waste disposal and cleanup campaign in a suburb mainly inhabited by expatriates from Kerala.[19] He also intervened in the case of Indian nurses who were duped in a job racket which promised them jobs in government hospitals in Kuwait.[20]

Chandy was the chairman of the Daveedputhra Charitable Society, which has been involved in building houses and providing sanitation facilities, health care and educational assistance, and other services.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Former Kerala minister Thomas Chandy passes away". The Times of India. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "From Kuttanad to Kuwait: The rise of Thomas Chandy". New Indian Express. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "പിണറായിയടെ പതിയ മനതരി ഇനതയൻ സകളിൽ നിനനം ലകഷങങൾ അടിചച മാററിയതിന കവൈറ..." www.marunadanmalayalee.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  4. ↑ ഡെസക, വെബ (1 April 2017). "തോമസ ചാണടികക ഇത നിയോഗം | Madhyamam". www.madhyamam.com (in Malayalam). Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Affidavit - 2011 Elections" (PDF). Election Commission, Kerala. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Thomas Chandy". Member Profile. Government of Kerala. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Former Minister Thomas Chandy Passed Away". Manorama Online, Kerala. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "എനസിപി സംസഥാന പരസിഡനറം മന മനതരിയമായ തോമസ ചാണടി അനതരിചച". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Staff Reporter (15 November 2006). "Thomas Chandy defends his stance". The Hindu. Kerala. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Affidavit 2016 Election" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Thomas Chandy". Myneta.info-National Election Watch. Association for Democratic Reforms. 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Kerala Assembly Election 2006 Kuttanad". Empowering India. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Kerala Assembly Election 2011 Kuttanad". Empowering India. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Chairman's Message". United Indian School Kuwait. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Indian Central School celebrates 15th annual day". Indians in Kuwait. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  16. ↑ JAVID HASSAN (13 January 2013). "NRI granted license to open school in Riyadh". Arab News. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Lake Palace Resort". Kerala Travel Mart. Alapuzha: Kerala Travel Mart Society. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Thomas Chandy gets more time to file documents". deccanchronicle.com/. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  19. ↑ Valiya S. Sajjad (15 December 2012). "Chandy Providing Full Financial Support For Garbage Disposal Campaign". Arab Times. Kuwait. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  20. ↑ Sajeev K Peter (3 March 2013). "Indian Nurses duped by job racket in Kuwait". Kuwait Times. Kuwait. p. 3. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "Daveedhputhra Charitable Society". Thomas Chandy.com (in Malayalam). Thomas Chandy. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
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