Thomas Chandy Explained

Thomas Chandy
Office:Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala
Predecessor:A. K. Saseendran
Successor:A. K. Saseendran
Office2:Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Constituency2:Kuttanad
Party:Nationalist Congress Party
Spouse:Mercy Chandy
Children:3
Birth Date:1947 10, df=yes
Birth Place:Chennamkary, Kingdom of Travancore, Dominion of India
(present day Alappuzha, Kerala, India)
Nationality:Indian
Death Place:Kadavanthra, Kochi, Kerala, India

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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former Kerala minister Thomas Chandy passes away . . 20 December 2019 . 22 December 2019.
  2. Web site: From Kuttanad to Kuwait: The rise of Thomas Chandy . New Indian Express . 21 December 2019 . 22 December 2019.
  3. Web site: പിണറായിയടെ പതിയ മനതരി ഇനതയൻ സകളിൽ നിനനം ലകഷങങൾ അടിചച മാററിയതിന കവൈറ.... 2021-11-01. www.marunadanmalayalee.com.
  4. Web site: ഡെസക. വെബ. 2017-04-01. തോമസ ചാണടികക ഇത നിയോഗം Madhyamam. 2021-11-01. www.madhyamam.com. ml.
  5. Web site: Affidavit - 2011 Elections. Election Commission, Kerala. 23 July 2013. 25 March 2011.
  6. Web site: Thomas Chandy. Member Profile. Government of Kerala. 23 July 2013.
  7. Web site: Former Minister Thomas Chandy Passed Away. Manorama Online, Kerala. 20 December 2019. 20 December 2019.
  8. Web site: എനസിപി സംസഥാന പരസിഡനറം മന മനതരിയമായ തോമസ ചാണടി അനതരിചച. ManoramaOnline. ml. 20 December 2019.
  9. Web site: Thomas Chandy defends his stance. https://web.archive.org/web/20071128014547/http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/15/stories/2006111512540400.htm. dead. 28 November 2007. 23 July 2013. Staff Reporter. Kerala. The Hindu. 15 November 2006.
  10. Web site: Affidavit 2016 Election. 16 August 2016. 17 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171117193327/http://docs2.myneta.info/affidavits/ews3kerala2016/667/THOMAS%20CHANDY%20(2).PDF. dead.
  11. Web site: Thomas Chandy. Myneta.info-National Election Watch. Association for Democratic Reforms. 16 August 2016. 2016.
  12. Web site: Kerala Assembly Election 2006 Kuttanad. Empowering India. 23 July 2013.
  13. Web site: Kerala Assembly Election 2011 Kuttanad. Empowering India. 23 July 2013.
  14. Web site: Chairman's Message. United Indian School Kuwait. 23 July 2013. 13 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130113074225/http://uiskwt.com/chairman_message.html#menu_box. dead.
  15. Web site: Indian Central School celebrates 15th annual day. Indians in Kuwait. 23 July 2013. 5 February 2010.
  16. Web site: NRI granted license to open school in Riyadh. Arab News. 23 July 2013. JAVID HASSAN. 13 January 2013.
  17. Web site: Lake Palace Resort. Kerala Travel Mart. Kerala Travel Mart Society. 23 July 2013. Alapuzha. 2012. 2 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130802181737/http://keralatravelmart.org/content/lake-palace-resort-alleppey-alleppey. dead.
  18. News: Thomas Chandy gets more time to file documents. 27 September 2017. Deccan Chronicle. 11 October 2017. en.
  19. News: Chandy Providing Full Financial Support For Garbage Disposal Campaign. 23 July 2013. Arab Times. 15 December 2012. Valiya S. Sajjad. Kuwait.
  20. News: Indian Nurses duped by job racket in Kuwait. 23 July 2013. Kuwait Times. 3 March 2013. Sajeev K Peter. Kuwait. 3.
  21. Web site: Daveedhputhra Charitable Society. Thomas Chandy.com. Thomas Chandy. 23 July 2013. Malayalam.