Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first Indian vice president born in independent India. He has also served as the minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting in the Modi Cabinet.
Naidu has also served as the national president of Bhartiya Janta Party from 2002 to 2004. Earlier, he was the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He took the oath as the vice president of India and the chairman of the Rajya Sabha (ex-officio as the Vice President) on 11 August 2017.
Venkaiah Naidu was born on 1 July 1949 at Chavatapalem village (near Venkatachalam) in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, to Rangaiah Naidu and Ramanamma. He completed his schooling from Zilla Parshad High School, Bucchireddy Palem (Nellore), and pursued his bachelor’s degree in politics and diplomatic studies from V. R. College, Nellore. Later, he acquired a bachelor’s degree in law with specialisation in international law from Andhra University College of Law, Visakhapatnam. He was a swayamsevak in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and joined ABVP during his college days. He was elected as the president of the students’ union of colleges affiliated to the Andhra University. He came into the spotlight for his prominent role in the Jai Andhra Movement of 1972. While Kakani Venkata Ratnam led the movement from Vijayawada, Naidu took active part in the agitation in Nellore, until it was called off a year later.
In 1974, he became the convener of the corruption Jayaprakash Narayan Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti of Andhra Pradesh. He took to the streets in protest against the Emergency and was imprisoned. From 1977 to 1980, he was president of its youth wing.
Positions held
- 1973–74: President, Students’ Union, Andhra University
- 1974: Convener, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Yuvajana Chatra Sangharsha Samithi, Andhra Pradesh
- 1977–80: President, Youth Wings of Janata Party, Andhra Pradesh
- 1978–85: Member, Legislative Assembly, Andhra Pradesh (2 terms)
- 1980–85: Leader, B.J.P Legislative Party in Andhra Pradesh
- 1985–88: General Secretary, Andhra Pradesh State BJP
- 1988–93: President, Andhra Pradesh State BJP
- Naidu at his farewell ceremony as vice president at New Delhi in August 2022.1993 – September 2000: National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party
- Secretary, BJP Parliamentary Board
- Secretary, BJP Central Election Committee
- Spokesperson of the BJP
- Since 1998: Member, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka (3 terms)
- 30 September 2000 – 1 July 2002: Minister of Rural Development
- 1 July 2002 – 5 October 2004: National President, Bharatiya Janata Party
- April 2005 – 10 August 2017: 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
- 2017–2022: Vice President of India
