JOIN USK Shankaranarayanan, after quitting as governor of Maharashtra, is set to return to his native state of Kerala, where he had spent close to five decades as a Congress activist in various capacities.
The 82-year-old was initiated into politics through students’ movements in the state before he rose through the ranks in the Congress' Palakkad district committee and eventually took over as Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president in 1972.
A four-time MLA and former Working Committee member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Shankaranarayanan was made Minister for Agriculture in the K Karunakaran government in 1977. His last Cabinet stint was between 2001 and 2004, when he was Minister for Finance in the A K Antony government.
He has also served as convenor of the Congress-led United Democratic Front. Before taking charge as governor of Maharashtra in 2010, Shankaranarayanan had served as governor in other states, including Nagaland and Jharkhand.