Keezhoote Balakrishna Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician who is serving as the Minister for Transport of Kerala since December 2023 and previously from 2001 to 2003.
In 2023, the Nair Service Society included Ganesh Kumar in the NSS Board of Directors, replacing Kalanjoor Madhu, the elder brother of K. N. Balagopal, the Minister for Finance, Government of Kerala.
The election also saw the defeat of many of his former ministerial colleagues, including M. K. Muneer, P. K. Kunhalikutty, Babu Divakaran and Ganesh Kumar's father Balakrishna Pillai.
In the 2011 Assembly elections, Ganesh Kumar scored a hat-trick win from Pathanapuram with an even bigger margin of 20,402 votes, trouncing his veteran CPM rival, K.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, Ganesh Kumar become an LDF candidate and defeated Jagadish of Indian National Congress by a margin of 24,562 votes.
Ganesh was born in a Hindu Nair family as the son of former minister R. Balakrishna Pillai and Valsala Kumari in Kollam, Kerala on 25 May 1967.
Ganesh Kumar's early films saw him frequently donning the role of villain or anti-social, as portrayed in Cheppu (1987) and Rakuyilin Ragasadassil.
In March 2008, Ganesh Kumar was chosen by the Frame Media Gallup poll to receive the best actor award for his role in the Amrita TV serial Aliyanmarum Penganmarum.