K. P. Anbalagan

Not to be confused with K. Anbazhagan.

K. P. Anbalagan also spelt as K. P. Anbazhagan (born 30 April 1958) is a Tamil Nadu politician from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and the former Minister for Higher Education and Agriculture department in Tamil Nadu. KP Anbalagan was born on 30 April 1958 in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India. He belongs to the Vanniyar community, and is currently serving his 5th term (2001-Till date) as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Palacode, making him the longest serving, currently incumbent MLA, a record which he holds with fellow party members O.Panneerselvam and Pollachi V.Jayaraman.^[1]

K. P. Anbalagan
Anbalagan in 2005
Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 2001
Preceded by	G. L. Venkatachalam
Constituency	Palacode
Minister for Higher Education Government of Tamil Nadu
In office 23 May 2016 – 6 May 2021
Chief Minister	J. Jayalalithaa O. Panneerselvam Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Preceded by	P. Palaniappan
Succeeded by	K. Ponmudy
Personal details
Born	(1958-04-30) 30 April 1958 (age 67) Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India

Career

He pursued his career into mainstream politics in 1996 and joined the AIADMK party in the same year. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Palacode constituency in 2001^[2] and 2016.^[3] He was appointed the secretary of the Dharmapuri District in 2016 by the then Chief Minister of the state J. Jayalalithaa.^[4] He served as the Minister for Higher Education in the Government of Tamil Nadu and he was previously appointed the Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development & Information Minister of the state in 2009–2011.^[5]

On 19 June 2020, while being the Education Minister he himself reportedly confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19 becoming the second major MLA from Tamil Nadu to be diagnosed with the virus after J. Anbazhagan.^[6][7][8] However the chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami denied the reports regarding Anbalagan diagnosed with coronavirus.^[9]

Electoral performance

This section is transcluded from Palacode Assembly constituency. (edit | history)

2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Palacode^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	AIADMK	K. P. Anbalagan	110,070	53.63%	+13.29
	DMK	P. K. Murugan	81,970	39.94%	+2.77
	NTK	G. Kalaiselvi	7,704	3.75%	+3.49
	DMDK	P. Vijayasankar	2,409	1.17%	−1.43
	NOTA	NOTA	1,351	0.66%	−0.34
	MNM	D. Rajasekar	1,176	0.57%	New
Margin of victory			28,100	13.69%	10.52%
Turnout			205,244	86.46%	−2.11%
Rejected ballots			342	0.17%
Registered electors			237,391
	AIADMK hold		Swing	13.29%

2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Palacode^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	AIADMK	K. P. Anbalagan	76,143	40.34%	−20.38
	DMK	P. K. Murugan	70,160	37.17%	New
	PMK	K. Mannan	31,612	16.75%	−16.32
	DMDK	K. G. Kaverivarman	4,915	2.60%	New
	NOTA	NOTA	1,880	1.00%	New
Margin of victory			5,983	3.17%	−24.49%
Turnout			188,767	88.57%	1.85%
Registered electors			213,136
	AIADMK hold		Swing	-20.38%

2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Palacode^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	AIADMK	K. P. Anbalagan	94,877	60.72%	+16.51
	PMK	V. Selvam	51,664	33.06%	−7.93
	Independent	K. Harinath	2,449	1.57%	New
	BJP	K. P. Kumaradevan	1,937	1.24%	+0.46
	Independent	M. Ramasamy	1,101	0.70%	New
	IJK	M. Kalaichelvan	874	0.56%	New
Margin of victory			43,213	27.65%	24.44%
Turnout			180,193	86.72%	9.86%
Registered electors			156,258
	AIADMK hold		Swing	16.51%

2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Palacode^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	AIADMK	K. P. Anbalagan	66,711	44.21%	−18.17
	PMK	K. Mannan	61,867	41.00%	New
	DMDK	P. Vijayashankar	11,882	7.87%	New
	Independent	P. Rajagopal	2,612	1.73%	New
	Independent	P. Ravishankar	2,356	1.56%	New
	Independent	M. Maran	1,700	1.13%	New
	Independent	S. Mathivanan	1,418	0.94%	New
	BJP	D. Rameshkumar	1,181	0.78%	New
Margin of victory			4,844	3.21%	−30.13%
Turnout			150,902	76.86%	17.24%
Registered electors			196,330
	AIADMK hold		Swing	-18.17%

2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Palacode^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	AIADMK	K. P. Anbalagan	75,284	62.38%	+31.93
	DMK	G. L. Venkatachalam	35,052	29.04%	−20.7
	MDMK	G. V. Madhiyan	4,648	3.85%	−1.66
	Independent	Prakash N	2,781	2.30%	New
	LJP	Vijaya Kumar M	1,169	0.97%	New
	Independent	A. Anwarbasha	1,113	0.92%	New
	Independent	R. Chandrasekar	638	0.53%	New
Margin of victory			40,232	33.34%	14.04%
Turnout			120,685	59.62%	−7.76%
Registered electors			202,427
	AIADMK gain from DMK		Swing	12.64%