K. N. Balagopal

Kalanjoor Narayana Panicker Balagopal (born 28 July 1963) is an Indian Politician belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who is serving as the Minister for Finance,^[1][2][3] Government of Kerala and Member of Legislative Assembly representing Kottarakkara. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha the Upper house of Indian Parliament from 2010 to 2016.^[4][5][6]

K. N. Balagopal
Minister for Finance, Government of Kerala
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2021
Chief Minister	Pinarayi Vijayan
Preceded by	T. M. Thomas Isaac
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 2021 (2021-05-24)
Preceded by	P. Aisha Potty
Constituency	Kottarakkara
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 3 April 2010 – 2 April 2016
Constituency	Kerala
Personal details
Born	(1963-07-28) 28 July 1963 (age 61) Kalanjoor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India
Political party	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Spouse	Asha Prabhakaran
Children	2
Parents	P. K. Narayana Panicker Radhamony Amma
Alma mater	Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram

Personal life

Son of P. K. Narayana Panicker and Radhamony Amma, Balagopal was born at Kalanjoor, Pathanamthitta on 28 July 1963. Balagopal is an M.Com., LL.B., LL.M. graduate as well as a social and political worker. He married Asha Prabhakaran on 24 March 1999 and the couple have one son and one daughter. His brother K. N. Madhusoodanan, an entrepreneur with business interests in varied fields, is the part time chairman of Dhanlaxmi Bank.^[7]

Political career

He entered politics through Students Federation of India and held positions such as district president (Kollam), state president (Kerala), and all India President of SFI and DYFI. He was also the President of Kerala University Employees Confederation and a Member of Student Syndicate, Kerala University. He was the Political Secretary of Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri V.S. Achuthanandan from 31 May 2006 – 13 March 2010. He is a member of CPI(M) Kerala State Committee since 1998. He was elected to Rajya sabha in April 2010 and was a Member of Parliament from April 2010-April 2016. In 2021 Kerala Assembly Election, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Kottarakkara constituency by a margin of 10814.^[8] He is now selected as Central Committee member of CPI(M).

References

1. "Kerala: V Shivankutty to be new education minister, KN Balagopal to helm finance department". Vivek Karindalam. Times Now. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Notifications - Government of Kerala, India". kerala.gov.in. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
4. "17 members take oath in Rajya Sabha". The Times of India. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
5. "Detailed Profile: Shri K.N. Balagopal". archive.india.gov.in. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
6. "RS membership, safe seats likely for JD(U)". The Times of India. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
7. "Shri. K.N Madhusoodanan -Chairman | Dhanlaxmi Bank".
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• K.N. Balagopal Rajya Sabha Biography