Veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu was elected as the 13th Vice-President of India on Saturday, as he defeated the combined Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi by a huge margin of 272 votes in a straight contest. Returning Officer Shamsher K Sherif announced his victory with 516 votes, while Gandhi secured a mere 244.
Assistant Returning Officer Mukul Pandey informed that over 98 percent voting was recorded in the vice-presidential election. 771 out of 785 MPs have voted in the election, however 11 votes were found to be invalid.
Naidu said, “I am very humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support. Coming from an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in Indian polity,” India’s vice president-elect said after being elected. “I will seek to utilise the vice presidential institution to strengthen the hands of the president and secondly uphold the dignity of the Upper House.”
Congratulating Naidu on his victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Congratulations to Venkaiah Naidu Garu on being elected India’s Vice President. My best wishes for a fruitful & motivating tenure.” Modi also expressed confidence that the Vice-President elect will serve nation as a diligent and dedicated Vice President, committed to the the goal of nation building. Gandhi also congratulated him on his victory, wishing him all the best in his new office. He said the fight in the election was for free thought, free speech, pluralism and secularism. Gandhi also thanked all parties that support him, saying that the voting figures showed that the numbers that voted for him were “beyond expectations”.
Naidu was a swayamsevak in the RSS, member of the ABVP during his college days in Vishakhapatnam. He came to the limelight for his participation of the Jai Andhra movement of 1972, heading on to become the convenor of the anti-corruption Jayaprakash Chhatra Samiti in 1974. He had also held street protests against the Emergency. Naidu was rural development minister in the Vajpayee government between 2000-2002. In Modi's government, first he was parliamentary affairs minister as well as the housing and urban development minister.
