About K. Karunakaran
Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician, political strategist, decision maker and statesman who served as the chief minister of Kerala in 1977, from 1981 to March 1982, from May 1982 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995. He is the founder of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition, which governed the state in the periods of 1982-87, 1991–96, 2001–06 and 2011–16; and currently is the ruling alliance in Kerala since 2026. He has also served as the Union Minister for Industry from 1995 to 1996 and served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly for four terms- 1967 to 1969, 1978 to 1979, 1980 to 1981 and 1987 to 1991. He also has the distinction of being one of the longest serving Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leaders in the country, holding that post from 1967 to 1995. Karunakaran was close to former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. At the peak of his career in the 1980s and 1990s, he enjoyed considerable access, confidence and control at the All India Congress Committee (AICC), such that he had an important role in helping P. V. Narasimha Rao become Prime Minister of India. He played a crucial role in nurturing and strengthening the INC into a strong political party in Kerala and enjoyed mass support of not just party workers but the entire anti-communist bloc that was active in Kerala. He is greatly known for his decision making and strategies and was widely seen as a kingmaker or as a chanakyan in the history of Indian politics. He is also credited with bringing development to multiple sectors in Kerala by spearheading key projects, including Kochi Airport, the country's first public-private international airport, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, and Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. == Personal life == Karunakaran was born on 5 July 1918 in Chirakkal near Kannur to a Nair Marar family to Thekkedathu Ravunni Marar and Kannoth Kalyani Amma.
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