Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

Shri Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was born on 1st July 1949 in Chavatapalem, a remote village in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. His parents, Late Shri Rangaiah Naidu and Smt. Ramanamma were agriculturists.

After graduating from V.R College, Nellore, he obtained the law degree from the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Shri Naidu was married to Smt. Usha on 14th April 1970 and is blessed with a daughter and a son.

Both as a student leader and political figure, Shri Venkaiah Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers, rural people and development of the backward areas.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu, right from his college days, was deeply interested in the welfare of the common man, particularly the farmers and the downtrodden sections of the society. This has led to his active involvement in the political and social activities at a relatively younger age. He was inspired by the selfless sacrifice and the principled politics of the leaders who had fought during the freedom struggle and also those who had valiantly opposed the emergency. During his three decades in public life, Shri Naidu has held several positions with distinction, including the following:

• 1971 : President, Students' Union, V.R. College, Nellore;

• 1973-74 : President, Students' Union, Andhra University Colleges;

• 1974 : Convener, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Kshatra Sangharsha Samiti of Andhra Pradesh;

• 1977-80 : President, Youth Wing of Janata Party, Andhra Pradesh;

• 1978-85 : Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh;

• 1980-83 : Vice-President, Youth Wing of All India B.J.P.;

• 1980-85 : Leader, B.J.P. Legislature Party in Andhra Pradesh;

• 1985-88 : General Secretary, Andhra Pradesh State B.J.P.;

• 1988-93 : President, Andhra Pradesh State Unit of B.J.P.;

• 1993-Sept. 2000 : General Secretary, All India B.J.P.;

• April 1998 : Elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (first term);

• 2002-2003 : Member, Committee on Home Affairs; Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture;

• Dec. 1999-2001 : Member, Committee on Finance;

• Jan. 2000-Feb. 2004 : Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Rural Development;

• 30 Sept. 2000-30 June 2002 : Minister of Rural Development;

• July 2002-Dec. 2003 : National President, B.J.P.;

• Jan. 2003- Feb. 2004 : Member, Committee on External Affairs;

• Jan. 2004-Oct. 2004 : National President, B.J.P. (second term);

• July 2004 : Re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (second term);

• Aug. 2004-May 2009 : Member, Committee on Finance;

• Oct. 2004-May 2009 : Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution;

• April 2005-Jan. 2006 : Senior Vice-President, B.J.P.;

• Jan. 2006-July 2017 : Member, Parliamentary Board of B.J.P. and Central Election Committee;

• Sept. 2006-Sept. 2009 : Chairman, Committee on Petitions;

• Oct. 2006-May 2014 : Member, General Purposes Committee;

• Dec. 2008-Aug. 2013 : Member, Tobacco Board;

• Aug. 2009-May 2014 : Chairman, Committee on Home Affairs;

• July 2010 : Re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (third term) (resigned w.e.f. 23 June 2016);

• April-Nov. 2011 : Chairman, Sub-Committee to examine various provisions of the Enemy Property (Amendment & Validation) Second Bill, 2010 of the Committee on Home Affairs;

• Dec. 2011-May 2014 : Vice-President, Parliamentary Forum on Disaster Management;

• 26 May 2014-5 July 2016 : Minister of Urban Development; Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation; and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs;

• July 2016 : Elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan (fourth term) (resigned w.e.f. 10 August 2017);

• 5 July 2016-17 July 2017 : Minister of Urban Development; Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation; and Minister of Information and Broadcasting;

• 11 August 2017 onwards : Vice-President of India and Ex-officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha

Both as a student leader and political figure, Shri Venkaiah Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers, rural people and development of the backward areas. He vociferously fought against forces of oppression and corruption, which were threatening the vitals of democracy. He was imprisoned for several months during the dark days of the emergency, for having fought for the preservation of fundamental rights and freedom of the countrymen. Besides being an avid reader, he has published several articles on subjects of public and political interest, democratic decentralization and on other important issues of national concern. As President of the BJP, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Naidu exhorted the party to adopt the slogan ‘Back to Villages’ and built the party at the grassroots level in the rural parts of the state. Both as a state level and as a national leader of the party, Shri Naidu extensively toured all over the country, particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas, to develop the cadre and mass base of the party.