Former Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala state secretary and Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan passes away at the age of 68 on Saturday. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai, reports ANI.
He had been receiving cancer therapy for some time, PTI reported. Balakrishnan, a Marxist party polit bureau member, served as the CPIM's state secretary from 2015 to 2022. He was a multiple-term MLA and the Minister of Home and Tourism Affairs in the V S Achuthanandan government from 2006 to 2011. He resigned as the party's state secretary in August of this year due to ill health.
The official CPI (M) party expressed its condolences to the veteran leader on Twitter. "It is with deep grief and sorrow that we give the news of the passing away of Veteran communist Comrade Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) and former Secretary of Kerala State Committee. We dip the red flag in homage," the party tweeted.
In a Facebook post, Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer shared a photo of the late leader and wrote, "Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts."
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan postponed his trip to Europe, which was scheduled from Sunday, due to Balakrishnan's critical health condition.
(With Inputs From Agencies)