A keen electoral contest is on the cards in Kollam with CPI(M) State secretariat member and former Rajya Sabha MP K.N. Balagopal entering the poll race as LDF candidate. Perhaps, one of the most undisputed candidatures in the front, the former CPI(M) district secretary is pitted against sitting MP N.K. Premachandran, promising a scorching campaign in the district.
Mr. Balagopal is a familiar face in the constituency having served as CPI(M) district secretary for three-and-a-half years. As party district secretary, he had played a crucial role in the LDF gaining a massive victory in the local body elections post RSP’s exit from the front in 2014.
He founded Kollam Care, a string of palliative care units headquartered at Kottiyam and was in the forefront of a project that installed over 3 lakh rainwater pits in the district.
Mr. Balagopal sprang to prominence through student politics and was the State and all-India president of the SFI, leading several agitations as part of SFI’s anti-self financing colleges agitation including a long march from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram and a 14-day hunger strike. Later, he worked as national president of the DYFI as well.
Active parliamentarian
An effective member of the Upper House, Mr. Balagopal participated in 196 debates and raised 762 questions during his tenure. Also noted for his intervention in environmental issues, he brought to national attention the plight of Munroe Thuruthu, Kerala’s sinking island.
During his stint as a parliamentarian he introduced the concept of bagless schools that garnered national attention and was later adopted by many schools. Currently Mr. Balagopal is the national executive committee member of the All India Kisan Sabha and also the president of Self-financing College Teachers’ and Staff Association and Kerala State Financial Enrerprises Officers Association.