Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, veteran Congress leader and former KPCC president, passes away

Thennala Balakrishna Pillai | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

Veteran Congress leader Thennala Balakrishna Pillai passed away at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on Friday (June 6, 2025). He was 95. 

Doctors attributed his death to age-related complications. Mr. Pillai was widely regarded as a mild-mannered gentleman politician.

He served twice as the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), first from 1998 to 2001 and later from 2004 to 2005. 

Bolstered by his reputation for honesty and non-partisanship, Mr. Pillai proved effective in managing factional undercurrents in the Congress in Kerala without inflaming internal disputes and personality clashes. He earned a reputation for selfless loyalty to Congress by signing off his considerable ancestral wealth for the party.

Born on March 11, 1930, in Sooranadu in Kollam, Mr. Pillai began his political odyssey as president of the Pulikulam ward Congress committee in the mid-1950s. 

He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Adoor constituency twice, serving as MLA from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1982 to 1987. 

He represented Kerala in Rajya Sabha twice, from 1991 to 1998 and later from 2003 to 2009.

Published - June 06, 2025 12:14 pm IST