Alphons received his early education in Malayalam medium village schools near his place of birth.

[4] His national profile rose as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, he commissioned demolition of 14,310 illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs.

He was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly, from Kanjirappally in Kottayam District, Kerala as an independent candidate with the support of Left Democratic Front and served from 2006 to 2011.

On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined the BJP in the presence of erstwhile party president Nitin Gadkari, after having resigned from his assembly seat a couple of hours prior.

[8] He was appointed a Member of Committee constituted by Government of India on 26 June 2017 to prepare the final draft of National Education Policy.

Alphons Kannanthanam contested as NDA candidate from Ernakulam constituency for 2019 Indian general election and came third.