Tearful adieu to NCP leader

People from various walks of life today paid their last homage to Nationalist Congress Party state president Uzhavoor Vijayan, who died following liver related ailments in Kochi.
He was cremated with state honours at his residence at Kuruchithanam in the district.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Ministers Kadanapally Ramachandran, C Raveendranath, Thomas Chandy, Mathew T Thomas, CPI State Secretary Kannam Rajendran and LDF convener Vaikom Viswam were among those present on the occasion.
Vijayan was 60 and is survived by wife and two daughters.
Hailing from Uzhavoor in Kottayam district, Vijayan began his political career during his college days as a leader of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Indian National Congress.

Vijayan was state secretary of the KSU and Youth Congress before parting his association with Congress along with a group of prominent leaders in protest against proclamation of emergency in the country in 1975.
Vijayan, known for his speech containing political wits, later joined the NCP and rose to the rank of its state president.
He also emerged as a key member of the LDF state committee during the Assembly polls held last year.