A former Rajya Sabha MP, KN Balagopal is expected to bring his parliamentary experience and maturity to the state cabinet in Kerala. He is among the 12 nominees of the CPI(M) in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government which will take its oath on Thursday.
Balagopal (57) was elected from the Kottarakkara Assembly constituency in Kollam district in the recently held Assembly elections by over 10,000 votes. This is his debut election to the Assembly.
Balagopal, who entered politics as a student leader in the 80s, rose through the ranks of the student outfit SFI and the youth outfit DYFI to make his mark in the state’s politics. He eventually became the national president of both the SFI and DYFI. While he was the state secretary of the SFI in Kerala, his march on foot along with hundreds of activists against the education policy of the then-Congress-led government got him attention on the crowded political field.
A native of Kalanjoor in Kollam district, Balagopal tasted defeat in his debut election in 1996 in Adoor constituency against senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. However, two years later, his organisational prowess got him elected to the CPM’s state committee.
In 2006, he was appointed the political secretary to then-chief minister VS Achuthanandan when the CPM-led front cruised to victory in the Assembly elections that year. Four years later, Balagopal was sent as the CPM nominee to the Rajya Sabha, where he had a remarkable stint, participating in debates and question-hour sessions. He called for attention to the state’s cashew industry, located primarily in Kollam district, problems faced by Gulf returnees and the environmental problems in Munroe Thuruth. He was awarded the Sansad Ratna award for best parliamentarian in 2017.
After his stint in the Rajya Sabha, Balagopal was deputed into the CPM’s organisation and appointed the Kollam district secretary of the party. Though he contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Kollam, he lost by over 1.4 lakh votes to RSP’s NK Premachandran.
While ministry portfolios have not been announced, Balagopal’s name is doing the rounds for the finance and education ministries.