Chennikkara Francis Thomas (30 July 1939 – 27 September 2020) was an Indian politician from

Changanassery Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

and 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 ...

. He was Minister for Rural Development in the

third A. K. Antony ministry The Eleventh Kerala Legislative Assembly Council of Ministers in A. K. Antony's third ministry, was a Kerala Council of Ministers (Kerala Cabinet), the executive wing of Kerala Government of Kerala, state government, led by Indian National Congres ...

and the subsequent

first Oommen Chandy ministry Following is the list of 20 government ministers serving under Oommen Chandy, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Kerala, from August 2004 through May 2006. Trivia Oommen Chandy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala on 31 August ...

. He was also the Chairman of the

Kerala Congress Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at Kottayam, Kerala in October, 1964, by a block of former Indian National Congress leaders led by K. M. George. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala ...

and later became its Deputy Chairman. Before entering politics, he was a teacher at St. Berchmans Higher Secondary School in Changanassery from 1962 to 1980.

Political career

Thomas entered politics in 1956 as an activist of the Kerala Students Union, the student wing of the Indian National Congress. He joined the

in 1964 and was a founder member of the party. He was elected to the

for 9 consecutive terms starting from 1980, representing Changanassery constituency. Thomas was a minister in the

and the subsequent

, holding the portfolios of Registration, Rural Development, Khadi and Village Industries. He was the State Level General Secretary o
Kerala Catholic Students League
He was respected for his humility and simple lifestyle. Starting political activities while a student, he joined Indian National Congress and then became Vice-President of Changanassery Town (West). He joined Kerala Congress on its formation and served as Secretary and President of Changanassery constituency; District Secretary, Kottayam; Member, State Executive Committee. He worked as General Secretary and Chairman of the Kerala Congress (M). Owing to the amalgamation of the three groups of Kerala Congress, he served as its Deputy Chairman. He allied with the

P. J. Joseph Palathinal Joseph Joseph (born 10 June 1941) is an Indian politician from Kerala Congress serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Thodupuzha Assembly Constituency in Kerala. A former cabinet minister, Joseph entered Kerala poli ...

faction of KC(M) after the party faced a rift following

K. M. Mani Karingozhackal Mani Mani (30 January 1933 – 9 April 2019) was an Indian politician and the chairman of Kerala Congress (M), one of the main factions of Kerala Congress, a party born in the Travancore or Central South Kerala region which foc ...

's death. Thomas died at Thiruvalla Believers Church Medical College Hospital on 27 September 2020, at age 81, following a long illness.

References

1939 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Indian educators Educators from Kerala Indian Eastern Catholics Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Indian schoolteachers Kerala MLAs 1991–1996 Kerala MLAs 1996–2001 Kerala MLAs 2001–2006 Kerala MLAs 2006–2011 Kerala MLAs 2011–2016 Kerala MLAs 2016–2021 Malayali politicians People from Changanassery {{Kerala-INC-politician-stub