THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader. That was what Kerala called him. Till Thursday evening when he breathed his last, Kannothu Karunakaran had been living the life of a true leader.
The doctors in Thiruvananthapuram who saw Karunakaran fighting adversities and getting back to normal life will be the last set of persons who underline the fact that he was a born leader. For the last two years, Karunakaran had been playing hide and seek with death. Each hospitalisation created speculation about the worst, but Karunakaran used to return to life with his trademark smile at the end.
However, at 5.30 pm on Thursday, when failure of multiple organs took him on, he decided to give up, leaving behind precious memories to cherish for his friends and foes. Every Malayali will have a story to tell about him and every second politician you meet on the street will tell you how he has been influenced by K Karunakaran.
Karunakaran was the second politician in Kerala who demonstrated the power to turn crises into opportunities (the first was EMS). He first demonstrated it when he built up a trade union in Thrissur by challenging the CITU in the latter half of the 1940s.
Later, when he nurtured the Congress to the ruling party in Kerala from a single digit party in 1967, that strength was acknowledged even by his opponents.
Rajan case, palmolein case and the ISRO spy case further cemented that belief. By forming a new political outfit at the fag end of his political career, Karunakaran was able to give a rude shock to the Congress.
A four-time Chief Minister, eighttime legislator and three time parliamentarian, including a tenure as Union Industries Minister, K Karunakaran is remembered by his colleagues as the best administrator. He was least bothered about theories and did everything to ensure that his decisions were practical. A fraction of a second was what he needed to take a complex decision.
Major infrastructure projects such as the Nedumbassery airport and Kochi international stadium became a reality only because of that faculty.
Pragmatic ideals have won him thousands of admirers in his party and outside. He was known to identify young talents and nurture them as senior leaders. G Karthikeyan, Ramesh Chennithala, KC Venugopal, KV Thomas, S Krishnakumar....Karunakaran- picked leaders still form a major chunk of state Congress’ leadership.
Karunakaran had admitted on several occasions that it was his staunch devotion to Lord Guruvayurappan that helped him tide over the crises. Like his Lord, he too couldn’t ignore his followers.
He was accused of protecting junior leaders and government officials just because they surrendered at his feet and requested help.
Survived by son K Muraleedharan and daughter Padmaja Venugopal, Karunakaran bids adieu without realising a long-term dream - the re-entry of his son to the Congress fold.
Karunakaran, the leader
• The man who stopped Naxalism's spread in Kerala
• A leader even in his childhood