Vice Presidential Poll 2017: M Venkaiah Naidu is India's next Vice-President: Know all about him

Veteran BJP leader Venkiaha Naidu was on Saturday elected as the 15th Vice President of India after he received 516 out of electoral college of 785 votes, while his opponent Gopal Krishna Gandhi got 244 votes. 14 MPs abstained from voting. 

The members of Parliament on Saturday voted to choose between NDA candidate M Venkaiah Naidu and opposition’s Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

Senior BJP leader and former Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu has had a meteoric rise in politics.

Know all about NDA Vice-Presidential candidate Venkaiah Naidu

Venkaiah Naidu was born to Rangaiah Naidu and Ramanamma, in the family of farmers at Chavatapalem in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on July 1, 1949. After completing his graduation, Naidu pursued law from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam.

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Since childhood, he was interested in politics and joined ABVP in 1973 as a student leader. He gained huge popularity on account of his outspoken nature and great communication skills.

Political career

Naidu actively participated in 'Jai Andhra Movement' of 1972. His leadership skills helped his political career and he won the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections twice in 1978 and 1983 from Udayagiri constituency. He also served as Union minister for rural development in the ministry of Vajpayee Government.

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Naidu joined the BJP in 1980. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha thrice in 1998, 2004 and 2010. Further, unlike other South Indian leaders, he became a proficient speaker of Hindi and addressed several rallies in North India.

He was part of the anti-corruption movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan and was also involved in the political activities of the Emergency period in 1975.

Moreover, under the Vajpayee govt, he introduced ‘Pradhan Mantri  Gram Sadak Yojana’ during his tenure.

Positions held

1. 1973–74: President, Students Union, Andhra University

2. 1974: Convener, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Yuvajana Chatra Sangharsha   Samithi, Andhra Pradesh

3. 1977–80: President, Youth Wing of Janata Party, Andhra Pradesh

4. 1978–85: Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh (2 terms)

5. 1980–85: Leader, B.J.P Legislative Party in Andhra Pradesh

6. 1985–88: general secretary, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.

7. 1988-93: President, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.

8. 1993 – September 2000: National general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party

Secretary, B.J.P. Parliamentary Board

Secretary, B.J.P. Central Election Committee

Spokesperson of the B.J.P.

9. Since 1998: Member, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (3 terms)

10. 30 September 2000 to 1 July 2002: Minister of Rural Development, Government of India

11. 1 July 2002 to 5 October 2004: National President, Bharatiya Janata Party

12. April 2005 onwards: National Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party.

2014–2017: Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs

2016–2017: Minister of Information and Broadcasting