Kodiyeri Balakrishnan leaves for Chennai in air ambulance for cancer treatment

CPM veteran Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has left for Chennai on Monday for treatment at the Apollo Hospital. Wife Vinodini also accompanied him. Kodiyeri has not been keeping well and was resting at his apartment near AKG Centre. CM Pinarayi Vijayan, wife Kamala, his daughter Veena, newly-elected CPM state secretary MV Govindan, politburo member MA Baby, former ministers AK Balan and M Vijaykumar visited him ahead of his trip. 

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has been unwell and undergoing treatment for cancer for a while. In March this year, he was reelected the party state secretary for the third time in a row, at the party’s state conference held in Kochi. In the midst of his previous term as state secretary, he had stepped down in November 2020, citing ill health. The move came days after his son Bineesh Kodiyeri was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a drug peddling case.