K. B. Ganesh Kumar
Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala
Assumed office
29 December 2023 (2023-12-29)
Preceded byAntony Raju
ConstituencyPathanapuram
Chairman, Kerala Congress (B)
Assumed office
10 May 2021 (2021-05-10)
Preceded byAntony Raju
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)
President, Nair Service Society, Pathanapuram Taluk Union
Assumed office
27 December 2021 (2021-12-27)
Preceded byR. Balakrishna Pillai
Personal details
Born (1967-05-25) 25 May 1967
Kollam, Kerala, India
Political partyKerala Congress (B)
(UDF: 2001–2014)
(Independent 2014-2015)
(LDF: 2015–present)
Spouses
  • Dr. Yamini Thankachy
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1994; div. 2013)​
  • Bindhu Menon
    ​
    (m. 2014)​
Children2
Parents
Occupation
Websitekbganeshkumar.net

Keezhoote Balakrishna Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1967) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. He is currently serving as the Minister of Transport, Government of Kerala from December 2023 in the Second Pinarayi Ministry 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. He was Transport Minister from May 2001 to March 2003. He is the son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, former Minister of Kerala.

Political career

In May 2001, Ganesh Kumar was elected to the Kerala Assembly from Pathanapuram on a Kerala Congress (B) ticket. He defeated his opponent, K. Prakash Babu, by a margin of 9,931 votes.[1] 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 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 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 by defeating K. R. Chandramohanan of CPI.[2] 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.[3][4] 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

Ganesh was born in a Hindu Nair family as the son of former minister R. Balakrishna Pillai and Valsala Kumari in Kollam, Kerala on 25 May 1967. He was an alumnus of Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram.[5][6][7][8]

On 20 May 1994, he married Dr. Yamini Thankachy, who worked as a senior research fellow at the Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies while pursuing her Ph.D. in Adolescent health. The couple have two sons, Adithyan and Devaraman. The couple later divorced due to irreconcilable differences due to Kumar's infidelity & domestic violence. Ganesh married Bindhu Menon on 24 January 2014 who works as marketing head in Asianet. [9]

Film career

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

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,[10] saying that Ganesh Kumar added four pages to Saritha S. Nair's letter, bringing the total number of pages to 25.[11]

In 2018, he allegedly assaulted a youth in a road rage incident, with the youth ending up in a hospital for injury treatment.[12] Later that year he allegedly manhandled a school headmaster in a school event, facing charges.[13]

Filmography

Television

TV shows as Host

Awards

Kerala State Television Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Kerala Assembly Election Results 2001". www.keralaassembly.org. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Winners of Kerala Assembly elections 2006 (MLAs) with victory margins". www.keralaassembly.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Constituency Wise Result Status". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "Constituency Wise Result Status". Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "Balakrishna Pillai's wife passes away". 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Kerala Congress (B) chairman R Balakrishna Pillai passes away". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Members Profile". www.niyamasabha.nic.in. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  9. ↑ "MarunadanMalayalee.com". www.marunadanmalayalee.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Prakash, Asha. "Mukesh leads, KB Ganesh Kumar wins - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ganesh Kumar added pages to Saritha S Nair's letter, says Fenny Balakrishnan". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "Kerala: MLA Ganesh Kumar thrashes youth in road rage incident". The Week. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kerala MLA KB Ganesh Kumar tries to manhandle headmaster". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "Filming of Mohanlal's Neru wraps up". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "New serial 'Kalyani' to premiere today; KB Ganesh Kumar set for his acting comeback". The Times of India. 8 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "'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.
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