Ramesh Chennithala

Ramesh Chennithala
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2011
Preceded by	B. Babuprasad
Constituency	Haripad
In office 1982–1989
Preceded by	C. B. C. Warrier
Succeeded by	K. K. Sreenivasan
Constituency	Haripad
Leader of the Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office 29 May 2016 – 20 May 2021
Governor	P. Sathasivam Arif Mohammad Khan
Preceded by	V. S. Achuthanandan
Succeeded by	V. D. Satheesan
Minister of Home Affairs, Government of Kerala
In office 1 January 2014 – 20 May 2016
Chief Minister	Oommen Chandy
Preceded by	Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan
Succeeded by	Pinarayi Vijayan
Minister for Rural Development, Government of Kerala
In office 5 June 1986 – 25 March 1987
Chief Minister	K. Karunakaran
Preceded by	N/A
Succeeded by	T. Sivadasa Menon
President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee
In office 2005–2014
Preceded by	K. Muraleedharan
Succeeded by	V. M. Sudheeran
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1999–2004
Preceded by	P. J. Kurien
Succeeded by	C. S. Sujatha
Constituency	Mavelikara
In office 1989–1998
Preceded by	K. Suresh Kurup
Succeeded by	K. Suresh Kurup
Constituency	Kottayam
AICC incharge for Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 December 2023
Preceded by	H. K. Patil
Personal details
Born	(1956-05-25) 25 May 1956 (age 68) Mavelikkara, Travancore–Cochin (present day Kerala), India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Anita Ramesh ​ (m. 1986)​ [1]
Parent(s)	V. Ramakrishnan Nair Devaki Amma
Alma mater	NSS Hindu College, Changanassery Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram

Ramesh Chennithala, [ɾɐmeːʃ t͡ʃen̺ːit̪ːɐlɐ], (born 25 May 1956), is an Indian politician, and a permanent invitee to Working Committee of the Indian National Congress. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly.^[2] He also served as the state Home Minister in the Government of Kerala for two years. He holds the record of the youngest minister in Kerala at the age of 28.^[3]

Chennithala has served as a Member of Parliament for four terms from Kottayam and Mavelikkara Parliament Constituencies and as a member of the Legislative assembly (MLA) for five terms including the current term from Haripad assembly constituency. He is the only leader from South India to hold the position of President of both State Students Union (KSU) and National Students Union (NSUI). He is also the only Malayali to hold the position of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President during the time of Rajiv Gandhi. He has represented the highest body of the Indian National Congress, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in 2004.