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Alphons Kannanthanam Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

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Wife: Sheela Alphons
Age: 70 Years
Hometown: Manimala

Alphons Kannanthanam

Bio/Wiki
Full nameAlphons Joseph Kannanthanam
NicknameAlphy [1]Onmanorama
ProfessionPolitician
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 170 cm
in meters- 1.70 m
in feet inches- 5’ 7”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourGrey
Politics
Political PartyBharatiya Janata Party (March 2011-present)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag
Political Journey• In 2006, he became an independent MLA backed by the CPI(M) in Kerala.
• In March 2011, he joined the BJP.
• In 2017, he was appointed as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and also became the Minister of State of the Ministry of Tourism which was an independant charge.
• In November 2017, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
• In the 2019 Indian general elections, Alphons Kannanthanam became a National Democratic Alliance candidate from the Ernakulam constituency, but he was unsuccessful.
Personal Life
Date of Birth8 August 1953 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2023) 70 Years
BirthplaceManimala, Kottayam District, Kerala
Zodiac signLeo
SignatureAlphons Kannanthanam's signature
NationalityIndian
HometownManimala, Kottayam District, Kerala
SchoolA Malayalam-medium village school, near Manimala, Kerala
College/University• North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
• Delhi University
Educational Qualification• A master's degree in Economics from North Eastern Hill , Shillong
• LLB at Delhi University (1966)
ReligionChristianity [2]Union of Catholic Asian News
Food HabitNon-vegetarian [3]Onmanorama
AddressH.N. 1/485A, New 428, Kannanthanam House, P.O. - Manimala, Dist. - Kottayam, (Kerala)
Controversies• BJP exploits Jawans' death to further its own agenda:
Alphons Kannanthanam received harsh criticism on social media after he posted a selfie with a soldier's coffin following the Pulwama incident in 2019. Many users said that the BJP was exploiting Jawans' deaths for its own gain.
Alphons Kannanthanam's picture in front of the coffins of Jawans after the 2019 Pulwama attack
Later, Alphons Kannanthanam refused any such incident and claimed that it was not a selfie but a picture taken by a news channel. He said,

"I don’t take selfies and haven’t taken one so far. Some media had aired live the last rites of the jawan. Things are clear in that, am a person who has held various posts in the last 40 years of my life. I had served people in slum areas in Delhi without holding any posts. My father was also a soldier. So, i am able to understand the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers instead of creating unnecessary controversies, the younger generations should work for the development of the country"
[4]Kerala Kaumudi

• Suspended by Kerala Bar Council
The Bar Council of Kerala (BCK) suspended Alphons Kannanthanam in November 2010 after they found he was engaged in professional misconduct. He was suspended for 6 months. The report by the comittee read,

"He had converted his proprietorship business to a private limited company and became the chairman of the company, from which he was receiving Rs 25,000 a month as well as 15 per cent of the company’s revenues. He should be debarred but should also be given an opportunity to stop his business within six months and continue practising as a lawyer if he desired to do so" [5]The New Indian Express
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Marriage Date26 October 1981
Family
Wife/SpouseSheela Alphons (homemaker)
Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam with his wife
ChildrenSon- 2
• Adarsh Alphons (entrepreneur, artist, and philanthropist)
• Akash Alphons
Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam with his family

Daughter-None
ParentsFather- K.V. Joseph (Teacher)
Mother- Brijith Joseph (humanitarian activist)
SiblingsBrother- 5
• Alphons
• Raju
• Roy
• George
• Paul (adoptive brother)
Sister- 6
• Jolly
• Mercy
• Cissy
• Sophy
• Preetha
• Mini (adoptive sister)
Style Quotient
Car CollectionNissan 2013 Model
Expensive Things/ValuablesHe owns a painting worth Rs. 10 Lakhs
Money Factor
Assets/PropertiesMovable
Cash: Rs. 5,00,000
Bank Deposits: Rs. 76,94,781
Motor Vehicles: Rs. 8,00,000
Bonds, Debentures and Shares in Companies: Rs. 3,26,11,566

Immovable
Agricultural Land: Rs 4,12,48,980 [6]My Neta
Net Worth (approx.)Rs. 8 Crores (as in 2017) [7]My Neta

Alphons Kannanthanam Some Lesser Known Facts About Alphons Kannanthanam

  •  In 1996, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam finished his LLB at Delhi University while working as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority.
  • Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam’s father, K.V. Joseph, was a World War 2 veteran who later became a teacher.
  • Alphons spent 27 years in the Indian Administrative Service after being recruited in 1979. He achieved the eighth position in the UPSC exam. In his position as Kottayam’s district collector, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam started a literacy campaign in Kottayam, which resulted in the district becoming the first in the nation to have 100% literacy. Later, other regions of the nation adopted his literacy push strategy. [8]Hindustan Times
  • In the 1990s, he was appointed as the Delhi Development Authority commissioner; during that time, he gained recognition as ‘The Demolition Man’ because he commissioned the demolition of 14,310 illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores.
  •  In 1994, he was selected as the 100 Young Global Leaders by Time magazine.
  • In 2006, he left his service to pursue a career in politics. In the same year, he was elected to the Kerala assembly as a Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed independent candidate from Kanjirappally, Kerala.
  • On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined the BJP after his falling out with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Coming from Kerala’s centre Travancore (a former princely state in southwestern India, now part of Kerala state) Christian belt, he has a solid relationship with the church. His unexpected appointment to the ministry is rumoured to be the BJP’s attempt to win over Kerala’s second-largest minority group, the Christians. In an interview, when he was asked about his reaction to the rumours of the BJP choosing him because of Christian votes, he replied that it is not about Christian votes and said,

    I am an Indian, a very proud Indian. I have a fantastic relationship with members of every community. Even Kanjirappally (from where he got elected as a state legislator in 2006) is not a majority Christian constituency, there are only 20-25% Christians. Hindus, Muslims, Marxists, Congressmen, all of them voted for me. I think the affection for me cuts across party lines, community, caste and all that. Perhaps, it comes from my civil service background. When you are a collector, you are seen as the state person, as somebody who can bring some light into people’s lives, and not really a person belonging to a party or a community.” [9]Mint

  • On 26 June 2017, he was appointed as a Member of the Committee constituted by the Government of India to prepare the final draft of the National Education Policy.
  • On 3 September 2017, after the cabinet reshuffle, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam was appointed minister of state in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Tourism.

  • In November 2017, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, after the position was left vacant by Venkaiah Naidu as he was elected the vice president in August of the same year.

  • In the 2019 general elections, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam contested as a National Democratic Alliance candidate from the Ernakulam constituency but lost.
  • Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam has published many books including Badlav Ke Liye (1998), India Mattathinte Muzhakkam (2016), and Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government (2022).

    Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam's book

    Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam’s book

References/Sources:[+]