Chennai: Born on March 1, 1952, in Alathankarai, Nagercoil (Kanyakumari district), Mr Radhakrishnan, who is also a lawyer, had begun his career in the Hindu Munnani, in the 1990s. He is unmarried.
Fondly called as Pon R by party cadres, Mr Radhakrishnan hails from an influential Nadar family. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, he first won on a BJP ticket from Nagercoil. He was a minister of state for youth affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government of 1999-2004.
Later, he also served as minister of state for urban development and poverty alleviation. He lost the same seat in 2004 and 2009. In the 2014 general election, Mr. Radhakrishnan won the Lok Sabha election from Kanyakumari constituency by a margin of 1,28,662 votes.
He is likely to take charge as Union minister of state for shipping on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi called him and informed that he would be part of the 45-member strong Cabinet.
