Thiruvananthapuram | Senior CPI leader and MLA Vazhoor Soman died on Thursday following a cardiac arrest, party sources said.
He was 72 and represented Peerumade in Idukki district in the State Assembly.
Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan said Soman collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest while descending the steps of a building at PTP Nagar, shortly after attending a revenue assembly meeting in the afternoon.
He was rushed to the hospital immediately, but could not be saved, the minister said.
His body was taken to the CPI state headquarters for party workers and the public to pay their last respects.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his ministerial colleagues, and leaders of various political parties paid their tributes to the departed leader there. His body was later transported to his constituency.
Born in Vazhoor in Kottayam district in 1952, Soman began his political career as an activist of the CPI’s student wing, the All India Students’ Federation (AISF).
He held several organisational positions, including serving as state vice-president of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the trade union wing of the CPI, before being elected as the MLA for Peerumade in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Chief Minister Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, condoled the sudden demise of Soman.
“Rising through the trade union movement, he was a people’s representative in the Legislative Assembly and a prominent leader of the CPI,” Vijayan said.
He noted that both inside and outside the Assembly, Soman's approach to intervening in and resolving public issues was exemplary.
"As a trade union leader, Vazhoor Soman was one who fought uncompromisingly for the rights of workers," the Chief Minister recalled.
In his condolence message, Satheesan said Soman was a leader who worked among the plantation workers of Idukki and rose to the leadership of the CPI and AITUC.
"As a member of the Legislative Assembly too, he had made notable contributions," the Opposition Leader said.