Kannanthanam becomes first Keralite in Modi Govt

Bureaucrat-turned-politician K J Alphons Kannanthanam, who quit civil services to join politics in an attempt to learn human life beyond files, became the first Keralite to be inducted into the Narendra Modi Cabinet.

His clean image and vast experience in civil service have come heavily in his favour as the BJP top brass went in search of a suitable face from Kerala where the saffron party was still struggling to make in roads. This is also seen as a move to to bring Catholic Church in Kerala closer to the National Democratic Alliance.

Mr Kannanthanam rose to fame as Delhi’s Demolition Man when he was Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, having cleared DDA areas of encroachment removing around 15,000 illegal buildings. This got him listed in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders in 1994.