Antony Raju | |
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Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly | |
Assumed office 20 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | V. S. Sivakumar |
Constituency | Thiruvananthapuram |
Minister for Road Transport,Motor Vehicles,Water Transport,Government of Kerala | |
In office 2 May 2021 –24 December 2023 | |
Preceded by | A. K. Saseendran |
Constituency | Thiruvananthapuram |
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly | |
In office 20 May 1996 –10 May 2001 | |
Preceded by | M. M. Hassan |
Succeeded by | M. V. Raghavan |
Constituency | Thiruvananthapuram West |
Personal details | |
Born | Trivandrum | 18 December 1954
Political party | Janadhipathya Kerala Congress [1] |
Residence(s) | Nanthencode,Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala |
Website | www.antonyraju.in |
Antony Raju is an Indian politician and a former Minister for Road Transport,Motor Vehicles,and Water Transport, [2] [3] Government of Kerala. A leader of Janadhipathya Kerala Congress,he was elected to the Kerala legislative assembly from Thiruvananthapuram Constituency of Kerala in 2021. Earlier he was the MLA of Thiruvananthapuram West Constituency from 1996 to 2001.
Raju was born on 18 November 1954 in Poonthura,Trivandrum to S Alphonse and T Lourdamma in a poor family from the fishing community. [4] He had his early education at the St. Thomas School Poonthura,Trivandrum,and completed his schooling at the Rajagiri School,Kalamassery,Ernakulam. [5] Raju was the unit president of Kerala Students' Congress (KSC),the students' wing of Kerala Congress,in St Xavier's College,Thumba,and Mar Ivanios College,Thiruvananthapuram. After graduating in Law from the Kerala Law Academy Law College,he enrolled as an advocate in 1982. [4] He completed his pre-degree from St. Xavier's College,Thumba,Thiruvananthapuram.
In 1996,Antony Raju was KC(J) candidate and contested for LDF. It was Antony's first political victory in Assembly Election from Trivandrum West Constituency. In the 2016 elections,he contested as Janadhipathya Kerala Congress candidate but lost to V. S. Sivakumar. But in the 2021 elections,he defeated Sivakumar by more than 8,000 votes. The coastal region has been Raju's support base. He contested elections for the first time from Shanghumugham division to the erstwhile district council. Shanghumugham is part of the Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency.
In his first attempt to reach the Assembly,he lost to M M Hassan of the Congress in Thiruvananthapuram West in 1991. Raju exacted revenge the next time by defeating Hassan. However,he lost again in 2001,this time to M V Raghavan.
He was not fielded in the next two Assembly polls due to controversies over his legal career. In 2016,Raju lost to V. S. Sivakumar,but defeated the same Congress leader in the 2021 elections.
In November 2024,in a legal setback,supreme court allowed criminal proceedings against Raju in the tampering evidence case,dating back to the early 1990s. [6]