K. P. Anbalagan also spelt as K. P. Anbazhagan (born 30 April 1958) is a

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

politician from the

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...

party and the former Minister for Higher Education and Agriculture department in Tamil Nadu. KP Anbalagan was born on 30 April 1958 in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India. He belongs to the

Vanniyar The Vanniyar, formerly known as the Palli, are a community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Vanniyars were historically considered a lower caste, although some were peasant-warriors in the 14th ...

community, and is currently serving his 5th term (2001-Till date) as a Member of Legislative Assembly from

Palacode Palacode (also known as Palakodu or Palacode) is a panchayat town in Dharmapuri district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Palakkodu is located at . It has an average elevation of 533 metres (1748 feet). Demographics Indi ...

, making him the longest serving, currently incumbent MLA, a record which he holds with fellow party members O.Panneerselvam and Pollachi V.Jayaraman.

Career

He pursued his career into mainstream politics in 1996 and joined the AIADMK party in the same year. He was elected to the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...

from Palacode constituency in 2001 and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He was appointed the secretary of the Dharmapuri District in 2016 by the then Chief Minister of the state

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...

. He served as the Minister for Higher Education in the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

and he was previously appointed the Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development & Information Minister of the state in 2009–2011. On 19 June 2020, while being the Education Minister he himself reportedly confirmed that he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

becoming the second major MLA from Tamil Nadu to be diagnosed with the virus after

J. Anbazhagan Jayaraman Anbazhagan (10 June 1958 – 10 June 2020) was an Indian politician and a 3 times MLA (2001, 2011 & 2016), a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Chepauk (State Assembly Constituency), Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constitue ...

. However the chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami denied the reports regarding Anbalagan diagnosed with coronavirus.

Electoral performance

References

1958 births All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Living people Tamil Nadu MLAs 2011–2016 Tamil Nadu MLAs 2016–2021 People from Dharmapuri district State cabinet ministers of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu MLAs 2021–2026 Agriculture ministers of Tamil Nadu {{AIADMK-politician-stub