Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Veteran Congress leader PP Thankachan, a former president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), who served various roles including the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, and a minister in the state cabinet, passed away on Thursday, September 11. He was 87 and was undergoing treatment for respiratory ailments at a private hospital near Aluva.
Thankachan, a seasoned politician, had a political career spanning over four decades and was considered a loyalist of K Karunakaran. He also held together the Congress-led coalition between 2004 and 2018 as the convenor of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Born in 1939 at Angamaly, Thankachan graduated from SH College Thevara. He entered electoral politics after winning the Perumbavoor Assembly seat in 1982. He continued the winning streak till 1996 from the constituency. Thankachan lost his seat in 2001 to Saju Paul, a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
He was also an important player in the ‘I’ group which shaped a huge part of the Congress’s politics during the 1980s and 1990s.
He was elected as the speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1991 and held the chair till 1995. He became the Minister for Agriculture in 1995 in the cabinet headed by AK Antony and continued till 1996.
Thankachan also served as the Opposition Chief Whip in the tenth Kerala Legislative Assembly and as the Vice President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee from 2001-2004.
According to media reports his last rites will be held at Jacobite Church, Akaparambu near Nedumbassery.