By IANS,
Kochi : E. Balanandan, veteran trade union leader from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), died here Monday morning, party sources said.
A former politburo member of the party, 85-year-old Balanandan had been unwell for some time. He is survived by his wife, CPI-M leader Sarojini Balanandan, a son and three daughters.
Balanandan rose from the position of an electrical wiring employee to become the national president of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the trade union wing of the CPI-M. He became a legislator in the Kerala Assembly in 1967 and till 1977 he represented the Vadakkekera constituency in Ernakulam district.
In 1980, he became a Lok Sabha member and then moved on to the upper house in 1988. He remained a Rajya Sabha MP till 2000.