K. B. Ganesh Kumar

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K. B. Ganesh Kumar
Ganeshkumar.k.b.JPG
Chairman, Kerala Congress (B)
Assumed office
10 May 2021 (2021-05-10)
Preceded byR. Balakrishna Pillai
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
May 2001 (2001-05)
Preceded byK. Prekash Babu
ConstituencyPathanapuram
Minister of Forests & Environment, Sports and Cinema, Government of Kerala
In office
23 May 2011 (2011-05-23) – 1 April 2013 (2013-04-01)
Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala
In office
2001 (2001) – 2003 (2003)
Personal details
Born (1966-05-25) 25 May 1966 (age 57)
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Political partyKerala Congress (B)
(UDF: 2001–2014)
([[Left Democratic Front

(Kerala)|LDF]]: 2015–present)

2014 to 2015 Independent
Spouse(s)
  • Dr. Yamini Thankachy
    (
    m. 1994; div. 2013)
  • Bindhu Menon
    (
    m. 2014)
Children2
Parent(s)
Occupation
Websitekbganeshkumar.net

Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the current MLA of KC(B) representing the Pathanapuram constituency in Kollam, Kerala. He made his debut as an actor in the film Irakal (1985) directed by K. G. George. He has starred in over 100 Malayalam films, performing a variety of roles.

He was the Minister for Forests & Environment, Sports and Cinema in the Government of Kerala beginning May 2011 until his resignation on 1 April 2013. He was elected from Pathanapuram in 2001 and has represented the constituency ever since.[1][2] He was Transport Minister from May 2001 to March 2003.[3] He is the son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, former Minister of Kerala.

Political career[edit]

In May 2001, Ganesh Kumar was elected to the Kerala Assembly from Pathanapuram on a Kerala Congress (B) ticket. He defeated his opponent, K. Prekash Babu, by a margin of 9,931 votes.[4] Ganesh Kumar's father and former Minister, R. Balakrishna Pillai had also been elected from the neighbouring constituency of Kottarakara, which he had represented for several decades.

Ganesh Kumar became Transport Minister in the A. K. Antony cabinet in May 2001 and went on to give a good account of himself. Though a political novice at that time, he turned around the ailing KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) and earned a reputation for providing a clean and efficient administration. In March 2003, he stepped down from his ministerial post to facilitate his father's induction into the Cabinet.

In the 2006 Assembly elections, Ganesh Kumar was once again elected from Pathanapuram, this time realising an increased victory margin of 11,814 votes aby defeating K. R. Chandramohanan of CPI.[5] LDF had made a clean sweep, winning 11 out of 12 seats in Kollam District and a formidable majority in the State Assembly, thereby making Ganesh Kumar the only UDF MLA from Kollam district. The election also saw the defeat of many of his former ministerial colleagues, including M. K. Muneer, P. K. Kunhalikutty, Babu Divakaran and Ganesh Kumar's father Balakrishna Pillai.

In the 2011 Assembly elections, Ganesh Kumar scored a hat-trick win from Pathanapuram with an even bigger margin of 20,402 votes, trouncing his veteran CPM rival, K. Rajagopal.[6][7] He went on to become a Minister for Forests, Sports and Cinema in the Oommen Chandy cabinet in May 2011. He resigned from cabinet due to the domestic violence case filed by his wife Yamini Thankachi on 7 April 2013. In the 2016 Assembly elections, Ganesh Kumar become an LDF candidate and defeated Jagadish of Indian National Congress by a margin of 24,562 votes.

Personal life[edit]

Ganesh was born in an aristocratic Nair family as the son of former minister R. Balakrishna Pillai and Valsala Kumari in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 25 May 1966.[8][9]

He was married to Dr. Yamini Thankachy on 20 May 1994. Yamini works as a senior research fellow at the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies and was pursuing her Ph.D in Adolescent health. The couple have two sons, Adithyan and Devaraman. The couple later divorced due to irreconcilable differences. Ganesh married Bindhu Menon on 24 January 2014 who works as marketing head in Asianet.[10]

Film career[edit]

Ganesh Kumar made his debut in the 1985 Malayalam film Irakal directed by K. G. George. The film was adjudged the second best film for the year. Over the years he made his a mark on the silver screen as a supporting actor, performing a variety of roles during the last two decades. Since 2001 he has balanced his role as MLA with his acting duties.

Ganesh Kumar's early films saw him frequently donning the role of villain or anti-social, as portrayed in Cheppu (1987) and Rakuyilin Ragasadassil. The film Lion (2005), starring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan was loosely based on Ganesh Kumar's life. The movie fared well at the box office.

In March 2008, Ganesh Kumar was chosen by the Frame Media gallup poll to receive the best actor award for his role in the Amrita TV serial Aliyanmarum Penganmarum. He went on to win the State Award for Best Television Actor (2007) for his role in the serial Madhavam, aired on Surya TV.

Controversy[edit]

Fenny Balakrishnan, the former lawyer and counsel for Saritha S Nair, the prime accused in the 2013 solar scam, had raised serious allegations against Ganesh Kumar.[11] saying that Ganesh Kumar added four pages to Saritha S. Nair's letter, bringing the total number of pages to 25.[12]

In 2018, he allegedly assaulted a youth in a road rage incident, with the youth ending up in a hospital for injury treatment.[13] Later that year he allegedly manhandled a school headmaster in a school event, facing charges.[14]

Filmography[edit]

Television[edit]

TV serials as actor
TV shows as Host

Awards[edit]

Kerala State Television Awards

References[edit]

  1. "Kerala Assembly Election Results 2001". Kerala Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  2. "Kerala Assembly Election Results 2006". Kerala Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  3. "Kerala Legislature" (PDF). Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  4. "Kerala Assembly Election Results 2001". www.keralaassembly.org.
  5. "Winners of Kerala Assembly elections 2006 (MLAs) with victory margins". www.keralaassembly.org.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://www.manoramaonline.com/news/just-in/2017/05/17/cabinet-decisions-r-balakrishna-pillai.html
  9. "Balakrishna Pillai's wife passes away".
  10. "MarunadanMalayalee.com". www.marunadanmalayalee.com.
  11. "Mukesh leads, KB Ganesh Kumar wins - Times of India". The Times of India.
  12. "Ganesh Kumar added pages to Saritha S Nair's letter, says Fenny Balakrishnan". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd.
  13. "Kerala: MLA Ganesh Kumar thrashes youth in road rage incident". The Week. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. "Kerala MLA KB Ganesh Kumar tries to manhandle headmaster". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  15. "'Daya' and 'Typewriter' bag State TV awards". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2012.

External links[edit]

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