K. Karunakaran
Kannoth Karunakaran (Malayalam: കെ. കരുണാകരന്; July 5, 1918 – December 23, 2010) was a senior stalwart politician from Kerala, India belonging to Indian National Congress party and was a close lieutenant of former Prime Ministers of India Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Kannoth Karunakaran was a former Chief Minister of Kerala, Home Minister of Government of Kerala, and Cabinet Minister for Industries of Government of India. He was one of the most influential, prominent and controversial persons in Kerala politics for at least four decades and was affectionately called "Leader" by Congress activists. K. Karunakaran is often regarded a master tactician, the "king" of Kerala state politics, and political troubleshooter at national level, and the creator of United Democratic Front.
As a member of the Congress Party he was elected seven times to the Kerala Legislative assembly between 1965 and 1995 and served as Chief Minister three times. In 2005 owing to differences with Sonia Gandhi and then Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy he acrimoniously split from the Congress Party and formed a breakaway party called the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran). Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) played a significant role in Kerala politics during its brief history. As a partner of both the LDF and the UDF at different times, it has been a major factor in success and failure for the two coalitions. In November 2006 the party merged with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a member of the LDF. Later, K. Karunakaran and his daughter Padmaja returned to Indian National Congress following a spilt. However his son K. Muraleedharan dissociated himself from his father and continued in NCP. Karunakaran died on 23 December 2010 aged 92 at Ananthapuri Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
He was often criticized for nepotism. Karunakaran’s dominating presence in the Congress party as well as other factors resulted in growing factionalism within the Kerala section of the Congress party. Karunakaran and A. K. Antony were dubbed as the political Tom and Jerry equivalents for their intra-party activities.
Karunakaran was noted for his steadfast devotion for Lord Krishna at the Guruvayur temple.
Read more about K. Karunakaran: Early Life and Education, As A Complete Politician, Karunakaran in Power, Later Career and Death, Controversies, Biographies