V. T. Balram (born 21 May 1978) is an Indian politician from Kerala and a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and vice-president of Kerala PCC. He was Member of Legislative assembly of

Thrithala Thrithala is a town and a village in Pattambi taluk in Palakkad District of Kerala state, South India. The town is located along the banks of Bharathapuzha and is famed for its Shiva temple. History The legend of ' Parayi petta panthirukulam' ...

for two consecutive terms. Later he was defeated by

M. B. Rajesh M. B. Rajesh (born 12 March 1971) is an Indian politician who has served as the State Minister for Local Self-Governments and Excise of Kerala, since 2022. He previously served as the Speaker (politics), Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assem ...

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

by a vote margin of 3173.

Early life and education

V.T.Balram was born to K.Sree Narayanan and V.T.Saraswathy on 21 May 1978, in Othalur near Thrithala in

Palakkad District Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He did his schooling from

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) is a system of central schools for talented students predominantly from rural areas in India. They are run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Noida, an autonomous organization under the Department of School Educati ...

, Palakkad, Kerala & Pachpahar, Jhalawar District, Rajasthan. He was University Union Councillor,

Sree Krishna College, Guruvayur Sree Krishna College is a Guruvayur Devaswom Board arts and science college in Guruvayoor, Thrissur District. The college comes under Calicut University and was established in 18 July 1964. Graduate courses were started in 1967 and Post gradua ...

(1997) and

Government Engineering College, Thrissur The Government Engineering College Thrissur (GEC-T) is a public engineering and research institute located in Thrissur, Kerala, India. During its establishment in 1957, it was the second-oldest public engineering institute to be established in ...

(2002); Senate Member,

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

(1999–2000 and 2006–2007); Editor, KSU State Kalasala (2007–2008); State Secretary, Youth Congress (2009–2010); State General Secretary, Youth Congress (2010-2013). He was elected a second time to the Legislative Assembly in 2016 May elections from the once communist bastion, Thrithala, at a time when his front, the UDF, managed to win only 47 seats out of the total 140. In 2021 Legislative Assembly election VT Balram lost the election to Former MP of Palakkad

Cultural and political image

In 2016, he supported

Amnesty international Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

in the controversy against

ABVP Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). History The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS ...

. He has admitted his son to a government school and declared that he does not want to raise him in any religion or caste. He is noted for his strong opposition to Hindutva & economic reservation for forward castes implemented by the LDF Government of Kerala. A vegetarian for 19 years, he protested against the beef ban in India by eating beef with his friends and shared the video on social media. He was mocked by CPI(M) sympathizers for taking a photograph with transgender activist Sheethal Syam during a pride parade, for which then CPI(M) MP

tendered an unconditional apology. In January 2018, he faced an attack for his unsavory comments in social media on the late communist politician

A.K. Gopalan Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan (1 October 1904 – 22 March 1977), popularly known as A. K. Gopalan or AKG, was an Indian communist politician. He was one of 16 Communist Party of India members elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952. Later he beca ...

, accusing him of child abuse for falling in love with a 14 year old girl.

References

1978 births Living people People from Palakkad district Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Kerala MLAs 2011–2016 Kerala MLAs 2016–2021 {{Kerala-INC-politician-stub