Thiruvananthapuram bids tearful adieu to Kanam Rajendran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The capital city bid farewell to late CPI leader Kanam Rajendran for one last time on Saturday as the bus ferrying his mortal remains started on its way to Kanam’s hometown in Vazhoor, Kottayam. The mourning procession will reach Kilimanoor at 4 pm. Then it will reach Kottarakkara at 5:15 pm.

The body was brought to Thiruvananthapuram by a private plane from Kochi Amrita Hospital. A special arrangement was made for the public to pay homage at the Pattom PS memorial till 2 pm on Saturday. Thousands came to pay their respects to him. The funeral is scheduled for Sunday at 11 am.

Kanam Rajendran's right leg was amputated due to diabetes and infection. He was under treatment after this and suffered a heart attack on Friday evening. He had applied for leave from the post of CPI state secretary. He served as CPI State Secretary in the last two terms. Kanam Rajendran was born on November 10, 1950 in Koottikal in Kottayam district. He entered politics through AIYF.

At the age of 23, he became the state secretary of AIYF. He became a member of the CPI state secretariat at the age of 28. Kanam also worked at the national level in the field of youth organization with AB Bardhan. In 1982 and 1987, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly from Vazhoor constituency. Later he contested twice from Vazhoor but failed. After that, Kanam completely shifted to organizational roles and became the CPI state secretary in 2015.