Alappuzha: The funeral of senior Congress leader Lal Varghese Kalpakavadi will be held at 4.30 pm on Tuesday. He is a former state president of the Karshaka Congress and vice president of the All India Kisan Congress. Lal breathed his last at 9 pm on Sunday at a private medical college near Thiruvalla. He was 70.

Born as the son of T K Varghese Vaidyan, one of the pioneering leaders of Kerala's communist movement, Lal entered politics through the Kerala Students Union in 1972. By 1980, he was serving as the state treasurer of the Karshaka Congress and eventually took on roles as Joint Secretary and General Secretary. He was appointed state president of the organisation in 2005, a position he held until 2022.

In 2024, Lal was elected national vice-president of the All India Kisan Congress. He also served as chairman of Horticorp and as a member of the Kerala Farmers’ Welfare Fund. In 2020, he unsuccessfully contested to the Rajya Sabha as a UDF candidate.

Lal is survived by his wife, Susheela Jacob, his son Ambu Vaidyan, and daughter-in-law Ann Vaidyan. Noted screenwriter Cheriyan Kalpakavadi is his brother.