Due to ill health, he stepped down as the party’s state secretary in August this year. (file)
Thiruvananthapuram:
Senior CPI(M) leader and former Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan passed away on Saturday night at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, party sources said here. He was 69 years old.
He told that he was undergoing treatment for cancer for some time.
Balakrishnan, a Politburo member of the Marxist Party, had served as the state secretary of the CPI(M) from 2015 to 2022.
Several times Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), he also served as Minister of Home and Tourism Affairs in VS Achuthanandan’s ministry from 2006 to 2011.
He quit as the party’s state secretary in August this year due to ill health.
Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer shared a picture of the late leader in his Facebook post and said, “From our sight, but never from our heart. Goodbye dear Balakrishna.”
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan postponed his trip to Europe, which was scheduled from Sunday, due to Balakrishnan’s serious health condition. PTI LGK RRT LGK HDA HDA
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