A. K. Balan (born 3 August 1948) is an Indian politician and advocate. He was the Minister for Electricity and SC/ST Development in the

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of Left-wing politics, left-wing political parties led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the current List of current Indian ruling and opposition parties, r ...

government under V. S. Achuthanandan from 2006 to 2011, Minister for SC/ST, Law, Cultural Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs in the first Pinarayi Vijayan ministry 2016-2021 . He is a member of Central Committee of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. He represented the Tarur/Kozhalmannnam constituency in the

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...

from 2006 to 2021.

Personal life

A. K. Balan was born to Kelappan and Kunhi on 3 August 1948 at

Nadapuram Nadapuram is a census town and a special grade panchayath located in Kozhikode District of Kerala, coming under Nadapuram Constituency#India, assembly constituency. It is in the North Malabar region of Kerala, India. History In the past, Nadapur ...

in present-day

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has a corporation l ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He is married to Dr. P. K. Jameela (Rtd. DHS) and has two sons, Nikhil Balan and Naveen Balan. Jameela was appointed Management Consultant at Aardram Mission in 2017. Naveen is married to Namitha Venugopal and was an international business developer in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Nikhil is a graduate of

Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram is an institution for legal education at graduate and post-graduate levels in Kerala, India. Established by the then Maharaja of Travancore in 1875, it is one of the oldest law colleges in India. Affili ...

and has also completed Post Graduation in Air and Space Law from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, becoming the first

Malayali The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...

to complete the course.

Education

Balan received his B.A. degree from

Government Brennen College, Thalassery Brennen College is an educational institution in Kerala, affiliated to the Kannur University. It is located in Dharmadam, Thalassery of Kerala state, India. The college evolved from a school established by the English philanthropist Edward Br ...

, and also holds an LL.B degree from

Government Law College, Kozhikode The Government Law College, Kozhikode or Kozhikode Law College situated on the outskirts of Kozhikode, India, is owned by the Government of Kerala and affiliated to the University of Calicut. The college caters to the needs of the north Malab ...

Career

Balan entered politics through students movement and served as the President and the Secretary of Kerala State Committee of

Students' Federation of India The Students' Federation of India (SFI) is a left-wing student organization in India that upholds ideology of independence, democracy, and socialism. History The origin of Indian students movement in its organised form can be traced to th ...

(SFI). He took part in 'Land Agitation' and imprisoned for 30 days in Kannur Central Prison. He was elected to

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from

Ottapalam Ottapalam (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk, and municipality in the Palakkad District of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ottapalam taluk and is located approximately 34 km (21 mi) from the Palakkad (district ...

constituency in 1980 and to

from Kuzhalmannam in 2001. He is first electricity minister of any state in Indian history to electrify a district completely. In February 2010, under his ministry

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

was declared first district in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to be fully electrified. He is also having record of giving the most electricity connections to consumers in

Kerala state Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Kerala also won the National Award for Energy Conservation during his period as minister. He was the Minister for SC/ST, Law, Cultural Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs for the State of Kerala and the Central Committee member of CPIM.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balan, A. K. Malayali politicians Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Politicians from Kozhikode Living people 1948 births Kerala MLAs 2001–2006 Kerala MLAs 2011–2016 Kerala MLAs 2016–2021 India MPs 1980–1984 Lok Sabha members from Kerala

Personal life

Education

Career

See also

References

External links