Chief Minister of Kerala
NAME – Pinarayi Vijayan
PROFESSION– Politician
BORN – 21 March, 1944 (Age 77)
PLACE OF BIRTH – Kannur, Kerala
FATHER’S NAME – Maroli Koran
MOTHER’S NAME – Kalyani Koran
SPOUSE – Kamala Vijayan
SIBLINGS – Late Alakkat Nanu
CHILDREN – One son and one daughter (Vivek Vijayan and Veena Vijayan)
EDUCATION – B.A. from Government Brennen College, Thalassery
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS/PARTY– Communist Party of India (Marxist)
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT– Under his chief minister ship, Kerala won the best governed state in India by Public Affairs Centre for three consecutive years (2016, 2017, and 2018). Ranked first in the United Nations Sustainable Development Index (2018).
AWARDS – Pinarayi Vijayan was honored by the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore for the Kerala Government’s efforts in curbing the Nipah Virus outbreak.He also won India today’s Best Big State award in governance category in 2017.
INTRODUCTION- He is the 12th and Current Chief Minister of Kerala.
BACKGROUND – After completing his schooling, he worked as a handloom weaver for a year. He became the CPI (M) Kerala state secretary in 1998, and remained in the position till 2015. He was arrested and allegedly tortured by the police during the emergency. After his release, he delivered a legendary speech while waving his blood stained shirt pointing to the alleged brutality he faced.
UPBRINGING & EDUCATION – He was born in the Kannur district of Kerala as the youngest son. After completing schooling he joined the Government Brennen College, Thalassery for a pre-university course. Subsequently, he earned the B.A Economics degree from the same college. He is married to Kamala Vijayan and has two children. His wife is a retired teacher. His son works at HSBC bank, Abu Dhabi and his daughter has her own IT company in Bangalore.
WALK OF LIFE-He started his political career through student union activities at the Government Brennen College. He eventually joined the Communist Party of India in 1964. He became Kannur district secretary of the Kerala student’s federation which later became the Students Federation of India (SFI). He then became the state secretary and then the state president of KSF. He became the president of the state committee. During that period, when communists in Kerala were organizing the political activities from different hide-outs, he was imprisoned for one and a half years. Then he became a member of the state secretariat. He was elected to the assembly in 1970, 1977 and 1991 from Kuthuparamba and in 2016 from Dharmadom.
MAJOR INITIATIVES TAKEN– He launched four major initiatives namely an agriculture calendar which would give impetus to Kuttanad farming sector and environment protection, eco-friendly farming at Monroe Island, trauma care facilities worth Rs. 33 crore in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in the model of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and a state of the art modern casualty at the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Another scheme aiming to provide quality education to SC/ST children was also launched by him.
POSITION HELD– 1996-1998 – Minister of Co-operative, Kerala State
1996-1998 – Minister of electricity
1998-2015 – Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Kerala State Committee
In 1970, 1977, 1991, 1996 and 2016 elected as Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly
From 2002 – Member of the CPI (M) politburo
2016 – Minister of Home Affairs, Kerala State
2016 – Chief Minister of Kerala.
CONTROVERSIES/CASES – a. He was held at the Chennai Airport ny the airport security on 16 February, 2007 for finding 5 bullets in his baggage. After he provided a faxed copy of his license to airport security, he was allowed to go.
b. He was caught in a amidst of a controversy when he called “Paul Chitilapally” (the bishop of Thamarassery in Kerala) “a wretched creature”.
c. In 2018, flood hit state Kerala was already fighting its natural atrocities when its CM, Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that an aid of Rs. 700 crore was offered by UAE to India. However, the centre declined any such offer and then the Kerala Unit of the Bhartiya Janata Partyasked Vijayan to reveal its sources. He revealed that he got to know about the funding from a middle-eastern businessman MA Yusuf Ali. He claimed that the aid was finalized between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruler of the Emirates.