Ananth Kumar is an
Indian politician who is presently serving the country as the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers in the Cabinet of 15th
Prime Minister of India,
Narendra Modi. As a member of the
Indian political party Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) he is representative of the
Bangalore South
Lok Sabha constituency in
Karnataka. He owns the credit of being elected six consecutive times in this constituency. Ananth Kumar has carved a special place among the people of Bangalore South owing to his profound contributions for the development of the constituency.
Early Life of Ananth Kumar
Ananth Kumar was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, on 22nd July 1959, to H. N. Narayan Sastry and Girija N. Shastry. He completed his graduation in Arts from K. S. Arts College in
Hubli, which is affiliated to the
Karnataka University. Later he earned his Bachelors in Law Degree (L.L.B.) from J.S.S. Law College, affiliated to the
Mysore University.
Political Career of Ananth Kumar
Inspired from the works of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Ananth Kumar became the member of the students' wing of the BJP known as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He was imprisoned during the
Emergency along with numerous other student activists. Later he got elected as the State Secretary of the ABVP and in the year 1985 became its National Secretary. Afterwards he joined BJP and received nomination as the State President of BJP Yuva Morcha. In the year 1996 he was appointed as the National Secretary of the party. In 1996, he got elected from Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency to the 11th Lok Sabha. He was re elected in the year 1998 and was introduced in the Union Cabinet as the
Minister for Civil Aviation under the leadership of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He was re elected for the third consecutive term in 1999, when he once again assumed a position in the
Cabinet Ministry in the National Democratic Alliance Government. Over years he has been in charge of various ministries such as Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs, Culture, Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. In 2003 he was appointed as the President of the Karnataka State Unit of BJP. During this phase he led the State Unit making it the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly, winning the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in the year 2004. In the same year he also became the National General Secretary of the BJP. Ananth Kumar has been appointed as the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, on 26th May 2014, in the Cabinet Ministry of the 15th Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Personal Life of Ananth Kumar
Ananth Kumar is married to Tejaswini and has two daughters named Aishwarya and Vijeta.
