RC returns 'Home': How this once KSU activist rose along ranks to become one of Kerala's strongest political leaders

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has been selected as Kerala’s Minister for Home and Vigilance in the newly sworn-in Cabinet led by Chief Minister V D Satheesan, marking his return to one of the state’s most influential portfolios more than a decade after he first held the charge in the Oommen Chandy government.

"My priority would be to ensure happiness and a peaceful life for the people by maintaining law and order in the state," he told reporters a few hours ahead of taking oath as a minister in the state cabinet.

Born on June 9, 1956, at Kottoor Kizhakkethil House in Thripperumthura near Chennithala in Alappuzha district, Chennithala is the son of late V Ramakrishnan Nair and Devaki Amma.

He entered public life early, beginning his political journey in 1970 as the KSU unit secretary at Chennithala High School. He steadily rose through the ranks of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and became its state president in 1980. In the 1982 Assembly elections, he made his electoral debut by winning from Harippad, defeating CPM leader Adv P G Thampi.

In 1983, he moved to Delhi as the national president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), marking his rise in national politics. He was appointed national secretary of the Youth Congress in 1985. The following year, at the age of 28, he became the youngest minister in Kerala, serving in the Karunakaran Cabinet. In the same year, he also took charge as the state president of the Youth Congress.

Chennithala was re-elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Harippad in 1987. In 1989, he entered Parliament for the first time by defeating sitting MP Suresh Kurup from Kottayam. In 1990, he became the national president of the Youth Congress, becoming the first Malayali and the first South Indian to hold the post.

In 1991, he returned to Parliament from Kottayam. He was appointed joint secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1995. In 1996, he was re-elected from Kottayam and was later made AICC secretary in 1998. In 1999, he won the Mavelikkara Lok Sabha seat. In 2001, he was entrusted with independent charge of five states as AICC secretary, and in 2004, he became a member of the Congress Working Committee.

In 2005, Chennithala returned to state politics as president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), focusing on organisational consolidation. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Harippad in 2011. In 2014, he assumed office as Minister for Home and Vigilance in the Oommen Chandy Cabinet.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, he secured a decisive victory from Harippad and was elected Leader of the Opposition. He continued his electoral success by winning again from Harippad in 2021 and once more in 2026.

He is married to Anitha. Their children are Dr Rohith and Ramith, and his daughter-in-law is Sreeja.