KOZHIKODE: As a political leader, writer, intellectual, orator and much more, he left his indelible mark on all fields, Imbued with socialist leanings, he was inducted into politics by legendary Jayaprakash Narayan, He relentlessly fought communal and divisive forces till his last breath, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan
MP Veerendrakumar, 83, was undoubtedly one of the prominent socialist leaders Kerala has seen. But, he was much more than a mere political leader. He wore many hats — that of a writer, intellectual, orator, environmentalist and Mathrubhumi CMD at the same time — and left his indelible mark on all fields.
Born into an aristocratic Jain family at Kalpetta in Wayanad, Veerendrakumar’s socialist leanings came through his father M K Padmaprabha Gowder, who was a member of then Madras Assembly. He started his long political career by accepting the Socialist Party membership from Jayaprakash Narayan during his school days. Samyuktha Socialist Party was his first political forum way back in 1968.
Later, he became a member of the Janata Dal, Janata Dal (Secular) and Socialist Janata Democratic (SJD) before forming the Loktantric Janta Dal (LJD) which is now in the LDF fold. Veerendrakumar became a state minister (1987) and later served as Union Minister of State for Finance, Labour and Parliamentary Affairs(1997).
Arrest during emergency
As a socialist leader in the Janata Party, he was arrested during emergency and put in Kannur Central Jail. CPM leaders Pinarayi Vijayan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, E K Imbichi Bava and M V Raghavan were along with him in the jail. “By then Veerendrakumar was a known leader. He had received special consideration inside jail. But he never behaved like a leader to us. Veerendrakumar attracted all types of people through his knowledge and oratorical skills,” said Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Twice in UDF
Though Veerendrakumar was with the Left during most of his political life, he had a brief stint with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) as well. According to Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, during the 1980 assembly elections, Veerendrakumar and his Janata Party were with the UDF. “But he returned to the LDF after two years,” said Kodiyeri.
In 2009 also, following differences over seat sharing within the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), Veerendrakumar ended his 25-year association with the Left parties. He then formed the SJD and joined the UDF in Kerala.Veerendrakumar’s first tenure in the Rajya Sabha was as a UDF MP in 2016. The following year, however, with Nitish Kumar deciding to ally with the BJP, Veerendra Kumar resigned his Rajya Sabha seat in protest and formed the LJD. He rejoined the LDF in 2018 and became a Rajya Sabha MP with the support of the Left parties.
Resigned within 48 hours
In 1987, Veerendrakumar had been sworn in as the Forest Minister in the E K Nayanar Cabinet. But he had to quit within 48 hours of assuming office following dissent in his Janata Party. “The bone of contention was that he had been made minister without proper consultation within the party. He had to demit office on the instructions of the party’s national leadership,” says N P Rajendran, veteran political journalist, who retired from ‘Mathrubhumi’ as Deputy Editor. According to Rajendran, who had worked closely with Veerendrakumar for decades in ‘Mathrubhumi’, the deceased leader belonged to a rare breed of politicians who are avid readers, with a thorough grasp and deep knowledge of things.