Thodupuzha: Senior Congress leader and former Idukki MLA Jose Kuttiyani (87) passed away on Monday while undergoing treatment for age-related ailments.

Kuttiyani, who was a KPCC member when Idukki district was formed in 1972, became the first president of the Idukki District Congress Committee. He played a key role in rebuilding the Congress organisation in the district after the formation of the Kerala Congress in 1965.

After losing the 1967 Assembly election from Karimannoor, he undertook a padayatra across Thodupuzha taluk to mobilise party workers. As DCC president, he led two more padayatras and oversaw the construction of the party’s district office.

He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Idukki in 1980 and retained the seat in 1982. In 1983, he was expelled from the Congress along with K K Balakrishnan and Cyriac John for supporting a no-confidence motion against then Chief Minister K Karunakaran. He subsequently formed the National Democratic Congress.

Kuttiyani contested the 1984 Lok Sabha election from Idukki and later contested the seat again in 2009 with NCP support. He subsequently returned to the Congress and served as its state president for several years. He joined the Kerala Congress in 2022.

Born on November 11, 1939, at Muttom to Joseph and Mariamma Mannarath, Kuttiyani studied law at Ernakulam Law College, where he served as union chairman. He took part in the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle) and spent two weeks in Poojappura jail.

He began his political career as a Congress ward president and later served as Muttom mandalam president and Karimannoor block president. He was elected to the KPCC in 1967 and served as an AICC member for several years.

Kuttiyani was also instrumental in the formation of the Idukki District Cooperative Bank and served as its president from 1975 to 1981. He later served as chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED).

His funeral will be held at 2 pm on Tuesday at St Sebastian’s Church, Muttom, following prayers at his residence in Thodupuzha.