KJ Alphons becomes first BJP leader from Kerala to become Union Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: No stranger to Delhi where he was famous as the "Demolition Man", bureaucrat-turned-politician KJ Alphons has beaten all seasoned Kerala BJP leaders to become the first party leader from the southern state to become a Union Minister.

Alphons confirmed to IANS that he will be inducted as Minister of State in the reshuffle of the Narendra Modi ministry on Sunday.

"Yes, I am there in the list," said the 64-year-old leader, as he requested if he can speak later as he is getting numerous calls.

With this, Kerala will get its first berth in the Union Cabinet.

Every move that the former IAS officer who quit service in 2006 to contest as a Left supported Independent candidate from state`s Kanjirapally assembly constituency has turned out to be successful, as after a five year stint as a legislator, he quit state politics and made a somersault - joining the BJP in 2011 and shifting base to Delhi.

He was immediately inducted as a National Executive Committee member, much to the surprise of many state BJP leaders and since then, has been silently working behind the scenes 

This new post comes at a time exactly an year after he was first named Administrator of the Union territory of Chandigarh but dropped after opposition surfaced from local leaders thaA with Punjab going to polls, it would be better to have someone else.

He got the name of "Demolition Man" when he knocked down 14,310 illegal buildings in the mid-1990s when Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority and stood his ground even after his wife and children came under attack.

A member of the Roman Catholic Church, he is married to Sheela and they have two sons.

Alphons, who hails from Kottayam, was one of the toppers in IAS in 1979 and he has always made a mark in whichever post he held during his career. One of the glittering achievements was when he led the literacy movement in the state and made Kottayam town as the first 100 per cent literate town in the country in 1989.

Another achievement was as the Entrance Commissioner of professional examinations when he cleaned up the system and announced the results in a flash.