K. B. Ganesh Kumar

Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian film actor, television host and politician. Most recently, 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 to the State Legislative Assembly from Pathanapuram in Kollam district for the first time 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 the Kerala Congress (B) ticket. He defeated his opponent, K Prakash Babu, by a margin of 9,931 votes. This was the first time in the history of Kerala that an individual from the film industry had been elected to the Assembly. (Earlier, industry titans like Prem Nazir had tasted defeat at the hustings.) 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. The father-son duo made history by becoming the first such pair to adorn the Kerala Assembly simultaneously.