Naidu’s rise from a village boy to NDA’s vice-president pick
NEWDELHI: When he was 10 years old, Muppavarapu Venkaiah Na iduw as attracted towards the Rash triyaSwa yams eva kS angh, BJP’s mentor. Not because of its ideology, but to play kabaddi.
The love for the sport set the tone forth es ono fa farmer from a village in Andhra Pradeh’s Nelloretorise—fromanannouncer in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s programme in 1963 to an MLA to a spokesperson, MP, Union minister, party general secretary to BJP’s national president.
And on Monday, he was named ruling NDA’s candidate for the vice-presidential election.
The B JP leader lost his mother in an accident when he was just one-and-a-half years old. “The party eventually became my mother,” he said.
When he joined Jan Sangh, which later evolved into BJP, he was told that the RS Sis a Hindibelt outfit and promotes vegetarianism.
“I walked down to the local RS S leader. He told me I can eat as much non-veg as I want. And if I have extra food, I can give him too,” Naidu laughs.
He first met Vajpayee in Nel- lore in 1963. “I was a student. My job was to make announcements in the meetings for him. I never thought as the party’s national president, I will sit next to Vajpayee and LK Advani,” he said. Soon, he went onto take up major roles and was at the forefront in the protests against Emergency imposed by then Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi. “I was always critical of Ind ira Gandhi. I remember once she even came to campaign in my constituency for the Congress candidate,” Naidu said.
Soon he was elected as an M LA in erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh assembly from Udayag iris eat in Nell ore district for two terms: 1978 and 1983.
While he has been en am our ed by Vajp aye e’ s charisma and oratory skills, he followed Advani’s organisational skills and managerial abilities.