V S Achuthanandan
Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan (born 20 October 1923) is an Indian politician, and the Chief Minister of the state of Kerala since May 2006. He is the twentieth Chief Minister of the state. He had been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) since 1985, and until July 2009, when he was reverted to the Central Committee of the party owing to his ideological dispositions.
One of the founding leaders of the CPI (M) in India, and the only alive among the founding leaders, Achuthanandan is the senior most leader of the party in India. He played a major role in building the party cadre in the state of Kerala. Popularly known for his allegiance toward the founding principles of the party, he usually finds it difficult to adjust himself to the changing policy of the CPI (M) leadership.
Born-20 October 1923 (age 87)
Alappuzha, Travancore
Political party-Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Spouse(s)-K. Vasumathy (Married July 18, 1967)
Children-V. A. Arunkumar
Dr. V. V. Asha
Achuthanandan had to face many hurdles from a very early age. He was born into a Ezhava family. He lost his mother when he was four years old and subsequently lost his father at age 11. This forced him to quit his studies after finishing 8th standard in school. He started working by helping his elder brother in a village tailoring shop. Later he took up the job of meshing coir to make ropes at a coir factory.