E. Balanandan (16 June 1924 – 19 January 2009
) was a communist politician from the

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

State of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He had been a member of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

's (CPI(M)) politburo since 1978. Born in Sakthikulangara,

Kollam District Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an in ...

, he was the son of Raman and Eswary Balandan. His wife Sarojini Balanandan was a former CPM state committee member. Balanandan initiated his political career in the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, but he later joined the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

in 1943, and then the CPI(M) in 1964. When CITU was formed in 1970 he became the first Secretary of the Kerala State Committee and later he was elected as the Treasurer of the all India CITU. He became the all India President of the CITU in 1990 and continued in this position till 2002. Balandan was elected to the CPI(M) Politburo at the 10th party congress of CPI(M), held in Jalandhar in 1978, and remained a Politburo member till 2005. From 1967 to 1977, he was a member of the

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...

. In 1980, he was elected for a four-year term to the

7th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 7th Lok Sabha, (18 January 1980 – 31 December 1984) elected December 1979 – January 1980. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India nine sitting members from Rajya Sabha were el ...

, the lower house of India's

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from Mukundapuram constituency. He was elected to the upper house,

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

twice in 1988 and 1994. Balanandan was the President of the

Centre of Indian Trade Unions Centre of Indian Trade Unions, CITU is a National level Trade Union in India and its trade union wing is a spearhead of the Indian Trade Union Movement. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions is today one of biggest assemblies of workers and classe ...

and of the Electricity Employees' Federation of India. Balanandan died on 19 January 2009 at a private hospital in Kochi in Kerala, where he was admitted due to respiratory illness. He had suffered from lung cancer for some time.

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1924 births Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Trade unionists from Kerala 2009 deaths Respiratory disease deaths in India Malayali politicians India MPs 1980–1984 Lok Sabha members from Kerala Rajya Sabha members from Kerala {{Kerala-CPIndiaMarxist-politician-stub