Kottayam: Upright bureaucrat and politician, Alphons Kannanthanam, 64, is all set to become the Union Minister representing the state of Kerala in the BJP government at the Centre.

A native of Manimala in Kottayam, Kannanthanam had a humble begining and tasted success the hard way. He cracked the civil service examination in 1979 and occupied several key positions including the post of Collector of Kottayam. During his tenure, Kottayam became the first town in the country to attain 100 per cent literacy in 1989.

Impressed by his performance, he was appointed Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority during which time he demolished all the illegally constructed buildings in the national capital, earning him the name ‘Demolition Man’. It was during this time that he ģot associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was then a party leader.

He quit IAS in 2006 to join politics and contested succesfully from Kanjirappally in Kottayam with the support of LDF in 2006. He quit CPM in 2011 to associate with the BJP. He is a member of the National Executive Committee of the party.