M Venkaiah Naidu Elected 13th Vice-President of India

05 August, New Delhi

Former Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will be the new Vice President of India as he defeated Gopal Krishna Gandhi by 272 votes.

Voting to elect the 13th Vice President was conducted Saturday with 98.21 per cent polling recorded.

There was a straight fight between NDA’s candidate M Venkaiah Naidu and Opposition nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Briefing media in New Delhi, Returning Officer Shemsher K Sharif said Naidu received 516 votes against Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s 244 votes.

771 votes out of 785 votes were cast in the elections. 14 MPs did not cast their votes. Naidu has served as the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Information and Broadcasting in the present government. He was born on 1st July, 1949 in Chavatapalem, a remote village in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

Right from his college days, he was deeply interested in the welfare of the common man, particularly the farmers and the down trodden sections of the society. This led to his active involvement in the political and social activities from a young age.

During his three decades in public life, Naidu has held several positions, including President of BJP. The opposition nominee Gandhi, a former IAS officer, has served as Governor of West Bengal.