V. Sivankutty
Vasudevan Sivankutty (born 10 November 1954) is an Indian politician, currently serving as the Minister for Education and Labour, Government of Kerala. He represents the Nemom Constituency in the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Sivankutty is a State Committee Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala and the State Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Kerala, and the District President of CITU, Thiruvananthapuram. Personal life. Sivankutty was born as the son of activist M. Vasudevan Pillai and P. Krishnamma, at Cheruvakkal, Thiruvananthapuram on 10 November 1954. He is a BA. LLB (course completed ), and was educated at Sree Narayana College, Chempazhanthy and the Kerala Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram. He is the son-in-law of late communist ideologue P. Govinda Pillai and Kerala University professor M. J. Rajamma. He is also a relative of poet Sugathakumari and of former chief minister P. K. Vasudevan Nair. Political career. Sivankutty entered politics through the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and has held positions such as its District President, State President, District Secretary, State Secretary and All India Joint Secretary. From SFI, he joined the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and currently holds positions such as  its State Secretary and District President. He was the President of the erstwhile Ulloor Panchayat, the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the Joint Secretary of the All India Mayors’ Council, the MLA of Thiruvananthapuram East and then Nemom (2011 - 2016). In the recently concluded Kerala Assembly Elections, he defeated BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan and K. Muraleedharan to become the MLA of Nemom again (2021–Present). He is currently a Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF cabinet, handling portfolios Public Education and Labour. The other departments under him right now are Literacy Movement, Employment and Training, Skills, Rehabilitation, Factories and Boilers , Insurance Medical Service, Industrial Tribunals, and Labour Courts. Personal life. He is married to women's rights activist and Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) member R. Parvathi Devi. They have one son.