Alphons Kannanthanam | |
|---|---|
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| Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology | |
| In office 3 September 2017 – 24 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | P. P. Chaudhary |
| Minister of State (Independent Charge) Tourism | |
| In office 3 September 2017 – 24 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Mahesh Sharma |
| Succeeded by | Prahlad Singh Patel |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 9 November 2017 – 4 July 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Venkaiah Naidu |
| Succeeded by | Ghanshyam Tiwari |
| Constituency | Rajasthan |
| Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2006–2011 | |
| Preceded by | George J. Mathew |
| Succeeded by | N. Jayaraj |
| Constituency | Kanjirappally[1][2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-08-08)8 August 1953 (age 72) Manimala,Travancore-Cochin, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2011-present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2006-2011) supported byLeft Democratic Front |
| Spouse | Sheela[3] |
| Children | 2 sons (Akash Alphons &Adarsh Alphons) |
| Alma mater | North-Eastern Hill University,Shillong |
| Website | www |
Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam orK. J. Alphons (born 8 August 1953) is an Indian civil servant, advocate, and politician from Kerala. He wasUnion Minister of State forCulture, andTourism duringfirst Modi ministry under Government ofNarendra Modi. He also held charge for Electronics and Information Technology.
Alphons Kannanthanam belongs to the 1979 batch of theIndian Administrative Service (I.A.S.), Kerala cadre. He served as Commissioner of theDelhi Development Authority.
He joined theBharatiya Janata Party in 2012. Before that, he was a member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and served as an MLA in Government of Kerala representing that party.
Alphons was born inManimala,Kottayam District, to K. V Joseph & Brijith Joseph. His father was a World War IIveteran who became a school teacher after the war. His parents had nine children; they adopted two more from the orphanage.
Alphons received his early education inMalayalam medium village schools near his place of birth. He passed SSLC with 42% marks. He completed hisMaster's inEconomics and was one of the toppers of theCivil Services Examination in the year 1979. He also completed his LLB while he was the Commissioner for Delhi Development AuthorityDDA.
Alphons was recruited to theIndian Administrative Service in 1979 and served as a civil servant for 27 years.
In the 1980s Kannanthanam was a district collector in Kottayam.[4] His national profile rose as the Commissioner of theDelhi Development Authority, he commissioned demolition of 14,310illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores. These actions earned him the epithet 'The Demolition Man'.[5]
He is also a practicing advocate in theHigh Court of Kerała atKochi and theSupreme Court of India.
In 2006, he resigned from theIAS to enter politics. He was elected aMember of the Legislative Assembly, fromKanjirappally inKottayam District,Kerala as an independent candidate with the support ofLeft Democratic Front and served from 2006 to 2011.[6][7]
On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined theBJP in the presence of erstwhile party presidentNitin Gadkari, after having resigned from his assembly seat a couple of hours prior.[8]He was appointed a Member of Committee constituted byGovernment of India on 26 June 2017 to prepare the final draft of National Education Policy.[9]
In a cabinet reshuffle on 3 September 2017, he was appointed minister of state in theMinistry of Electronics and Information Technology and minister of State (independent charge) of theMinistry of Tourism.[10] On 9 November 2017, Alphons was elected unopposed as Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.[11]
He is the second BJP Central Minister fromKerala afterO. Rajagopal.
Alphons Kannanthanam contested asNDA candidate fromErnakulam constituency for2019 Indian general election and came third.[12]
