AK Antony and Oommen Chandy: A Remarkable Friendship in Kerala Politics

2023-07-18 19:04:11

Thiruvananthapuram ∙ ‘The younger brother should not go when the elder brother is sitting. I can’t stand it. Nothing more can be said’ – AK Antony said. His wife Elizabeth must have never seen Antony so sad and in tears. They were brought together by Oommen Chandy and his wife Mariamma. Antony was determined not to marry. When President Sail Singh came to Thiruvananthapuram, Antony was also present on the stage and reminded him of this with some humor.

Anthony revealed to Oommen Chandy that he had given up on the decision not to marry. ‘Find the girl Bawa (Mary’s mother) and Oommen Chandy’ – Antony demanded. Mariamma told Oommen Chandy about Elizabeth, who works with her at the bank. He came from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram to see the girl. The first meeting was at Oommen Chandy’s Puthupalli House. Later the engagement and the register marriage took place in the same Pudupally house.

Antony first met Oommen Chandy at an event in Kottayam when Vayalar Ravi was the president of KSU. Later, when Anthony became the President and Oommen Chandy became the General Secretary, the most famous friendship in Kerala politics began.

Even after A Group was formed in the Congress in the name of Antony, it was Oommen Chandy who held it firmly together. Antony has always said that he never took any decision in his personal life or politics without discussing it with Oommen Chandy. But even Oommen Chandy was not aware of Antony’s resignations which created a big movement in Kerala politics.

Antony also kept it a secret that Oommen Chandy was intended as his successor. Anthony said that on the day observers Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel came to Kerala, they called only Oommen Chandy. ‘Umman Chandy is the next Chief Minister’.

Antony soon became fully involved in national politics. Even then, both of them discussed all the important organizational issues in Kerala. ‘I have no one else who has so much faith. You can tell him anything. We have had differences of opinion. But it has not become a personal dispute. There has never been a dull moment.’

Oommen Chandy’s illness bothered Anthony, who recently returned to Kerala from Delhi. ‘I couldn’t stand it once I saw it. This journey is premature. Oommen Chandy should not have left before me.

English Summary : AK Antony remembers Oommen Chandy

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