R.S. Unni (18 February 1925 – 17 February 1999) was an Indian politician and trade unionist. He served as a Central Committee member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and president of the

United Trade Union Congress United Trade Union Congress is a central trade union organisation in India. UTUC is politically tied to Revolutionary Socialist Party. Ashok Ghosh is the general secretary of UTUC. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labo ...

(UTUC). A state legislator for decades, he served as a

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

state government minister in the 1980s.Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Ministers' Book – Down the Years
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Student and labour activism

R.S. Unni was the son of Raman Unni. In his youth he was active in student politics, through the Travancore Congress. He served as the general secretary of the Kerala Students Congress. He was jailed for his role in anti-government protests in

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

. He joined the

Kerala Socialist Party Founded on 21 September, 1947 in Kozhikode, the Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) is a political party in India established under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran. Initially a small entity, the KSP gained significant public attention due to the effo ...

in 1948, and became a member of the State Executive Committee of the party. He joined the RSP in 1950. A prominent trade unionist, he was noted for leading 'about 21 trade unions' as of the early 1970s.

Legislator

He contested the 1960 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, standing as a candidate in the Thrrikkadavur constituency. He obtained 17,309 votes (16.7%). In 1965 he contested the Eravipuram assembly seat, finishing in second place with 18,458 votes (35.55%). He lost the seat by a margin of 656 votes. He won the Eravipuram seat in the 1967 assembly election, obtaining 31,083 votes (63.41%).

Deputy Speaker

R.S. Unni retained the Eravipuram seat in the 1970 election, obtaining 35,631 votes (62.53%). He was the Deputy Speaker of the legislative assembly between 31 October 1970 and 22 March 1977. Between 9 May 1975 and 16 February 1976 he acted as the Speaker of the assembly. In the assembly he chaired the Public Undertakings Committee 1970–71, 1973–74 and 1976–77 and the Subordinate Legislation Committee 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75.Kerala Legislative Assembly.
R.S. Unni
' He again won the Eravipuram seat in the 1977 election, obtaining 39,119 votes (58.52%). He served as Kerala State Committee secretary of RSP 1978–1980.

Minister

R.S. Unni retained Eravipuram in the 1980 election, getting 45,281 votes (57.65%). Between 25 January and 20 October 1981 he held the post as Minister for Local Administration in the E.K. Nayanar cabinet. In the 1982 election, he won the Eravipuram seat with 37,862 votes (48.65%). He was the opposition candidate for the post as speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly in June 1982, but was defeated by 74 against 61 votes.

Lok Sabha candidate

R.S. Unni contested the Quilon Lok Sabha seat in the

1984 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 24, 27 and 28 December 1984 soon after the assassination of previous prime minister, Indira Gandhi, though the vote in Assam and Punjab was delayed until 1985 due to ongoing insurgency. The electio ...

. He finished in second place with 259,371 votes (46.14%). He again contested the Quilon seat in the

1991 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991 to elect the members of the 10th Lok Sabha, although they were delayed until 19 February 1992 in Punjab. No party could muster a majority in the Lok Sabha, resulting i ...

, finishing in second place with 342,796 votes (46.63%).Election Commission of India.
STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1991 TO THE TENTH LOK SABHA – VOLUME I (NATIONAL AND STATE ABSTRACTS & DETAILED RESULTS)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:RS Unni 1925 births 1999 deaths Revolutionary Socialist Party (India) politicians Trade unionists from Kerala Deputy speakers of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Kerala MLAs 1967–1970 Kerala MLAs 1970–1977 Kerala MLAs 1977–1979 Kerala MLAs 1982–1987