As Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joins Narendra Modi-led NDA government, the spotlight is on its two Union Minister designates; Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani. While Naidu will be sworn in as a Cabinet minister, Pemmasani will be the minister of state in the Modi 3.0 government, a party leader confirmed.
As he is sworn in, Naidu, 36, will also become the youngest minister in the third NDA government. He will also continue the legacy of his father, senior TDP leader and former Union Minister Yerran Naidu, who was the Union Minister in Deve Gowda and I K Gujarat cabinets from 1996-1998. Yerran Naidu, fondly known as Yerranna had also become a Union Minister at 39.
Naidu, who won for a third consecutive time from Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam constituency defeating Tilak Perada of the YSR Congress Party by a margin of 3.2 lakh votes, completed his schooling at the Delhi Public School in RK Puram. He also has an MBA and an engineering graduate from the US.
He entered active politics at 24 in 2012 and is considered a loyalist to TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu. He served as the national general secretary of the Chandrababu-led party. His first win came two years later in 2014 as an MP from Srikakulam. He had then made waves as the second youngest MP in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was the TDP’s floor leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha.
He is also known for his liberal views and pro-women policies. He grabbed eyeballs in 2021 when he announced the decision to take paternity leave. This was during the 2021 budget sessions and his statement sparked healthy discussions on gender rights.
Naidu is also one of the first MPs to advocate for menstrual health education and sex education in parliament and has actively campaigned for the removal of GST on sanitary pads.
He was honoured with the Sansad Ratna Award in 2020 for his extraordinary performance as an MP.
Though Naidu claims his party has not put forth any demands with the BJP so far, he confirmed the party's poll promise to preserve Muslim quota reservation in Andhra Pradesh will not change. "After a long time, TDP will have a Union Minister. We are very happy. We have the undivided attention of the Central government," Naidu told reporters on Sunday.
"We have no demand so far. Our relations are so strong that we will take a decision only after holding proper discussions. There will be no change in our stand on the reservation," he added.
