Five Reasons NDA Picked Venkaiah Naidu For Vice President

Will Venkaiah Naidu become Vice President? The senior leader is expected to help BJP make inroads into South India.

NDA’s vice presidential candidate Venkaiah Naidu with his wife. 

(Photo: PTI)

NDA’s nominee Venkaiah Naidu was elected at the 13th Vice President of India on Saturday. Naidu defeated Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the Opposition’s candidate and got around 516 votes. Around 98.21 percent polling was recorded in the Vice Presidential polls.

Back in the 1970s, when BJP’s precursor Jana Sangh was a marginal player with little clout in the south, Naidu as young party worker kept himself busy by putting up posters of stalwarts such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani.

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu has come a long way since those days of political obscurity. 

The NDA’s Vice President comes from a humble agricultural family of Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district. The former BJP national president, who is known for his oratory skills, was elected to the Rajya Sabha three times from Karnataka.

(This story was originally published on 18 July and has been republished after Naidu was elected as the vice president on 5 August.)

(With inputs from PTI.)