R. Balakrishna Pillai is a veteran Indian politician, a former minister of the state of Kerala in India, who has held major portfolios like Transport and Electricity. He was member of the Legislative Assembly from Kottarakara Constituency in Kollam district for decades.His father was a wealthy Nair Jenmi ( Landlord ) of Valakom near Kottarakara, known as Kezhoot Raman Pillai,who had extensive landed areas in the then princely state of Travancore, which is now part of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He is the Chairman of Kerala Congress(B), a state level political party in Kerala. Throughout his entire career as a politician, Mr Pillai remained a highly controversial figure in Kerala state politics.Gandeevam, a biography of R. Balakrishna Pillai written by Vrindavanam Venugopalan with a foreword by Dr. Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, was published by Viswakeralam Daily. Pillai's autobiography was published by DC Books in 2011.