NOB-Thiruvananthapuram news: Communist veteran and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan (101) passed away. He was admitted to a private hospital on the 23rd of June 2025 due to a heart attack. He breathed his last on 21.07.2025 as his health condition deteriorated further. It is known that he served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011. Achuthanandan was also one of the people who founded the CPM after a split in the Undivided Left Party. Born on October 20, 1923 in a poor family in Kerala, Achuthanandan along with the lives of Lenin, Stalin and Mao is a rare leader who has witnessed many key moments in the history of world communism. Achuthanandan, who dropped out of primary education due to poverty in his childhood and worked in tailor shops and coconut factories, entered the labour movement. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1940. His political career, which began with his imprisonment as part of his struggle against landlords in the pre-independence Travancore princely state, gradually rose to the level of chief minister as a public leader. In 1964, he left the CPI National Council and played a key role in the formation of the CPM. He was elected to the Kerala Assembly from 1967 to 2016, serving as chief minister once (2006-2011) and as leader of the opposition three times. Achuthanandan, who never backed down in the fight against corruption. As the Chief Minister, he took an iron fist even on land encroachers in the state. Even though many people opposed these actions, he did not shy away. When there was a gap between the parties, he put aside the discipline of the Marxist party and stood by the people. Despite facing insults in this process, he never gave up his honesty and modesty. Although he was born in 1923 he was a constant student who understood modern needs. Just as in the old generation, land was concentrated in the hands of a few he realized that in the technological world, the monopoly of a few companies in the form of software was increasing he campaigned for open source software that would be available to everyone. Even at the age of 93, VS became a triumphant figure for the communists in 2016.