Now all eyes are on the Governor of Telugu states ESL Narasimhan for the post of Vice president of India. He is a former Police and was the IB chief for the country. Now that the procedure for electing the president of India is in place, the BJP top leadership is looking at the selection and election of candidate for the post of vice president of India. After Narsimhan the other name is circulation is the Maharashtra governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who has shot to fame as ‘acting’ governor of Tamil Nadu, has been a member of the BJP during its entire duration till he was appointed to the gubernatorial post.
After starting as an ABVP activist, he became a Jan Sangh leader who was thrice elected to the undivided Andhra Pradesh assembly and later to the Lok Sabha. He was the central minister of state for Home affairs and was the president for the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.
He belongs to the dominant Velama community and hails from a very influential family in Karimnagar of northern Telangana. Former CPI general secretary and TDP leader Rajeshwar Rao and former Planning Commission member Hanumantha Rao are his brothers. He also related to the CM of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao. He is also related to CH Ramesh the MLA from TRS.
As an ABVP activist, he was elected president of the Osmania University students union, where he opposed extreme Leftwing activists. BJP leaders familiar with his early life say that he survived a bid on his life by Naxalites in the early 70s but didn’t give up his commitment to saffron politics.
“He is a second generation nationalist politician from undivided Andhra Pradesh and a contemporary of Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Bandaru Dattatreya,” said a senior BJP insider.
During his Jan Sangh days, he practised law in Karimnagar district court and Andhra high court. He was elected state BJP president in 90s. Rao, like most politicians from the area, espoused statehood for Telangana. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and in 1999 and served as a minister of state for home affairs under LK Advani. “He is known as a simple and noble fellow,” said a BJP leader who knew him when he was MoS in the Vajpayee government.
CHV lost the 2004 Lok Sabha elections in Karimnagar to TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, who became the Telangana chief minister later. He went into political oblivion thereafter and struggled to secure his party nomination to the seat in 2014 as general secretary Murlidhar Rao too was eyeing the seat. Though he managed to secure the nomination finally, he lost the polls to his nephew who contested as a TRS candidate.
“His selection as governor to politically-crucial state of Maharashtra came as a surprise to most,” conceded a BJP insider. “The Sangh and former president Nitin Gadkari wanted someone of his choice as Maharashtra governor and that was the reason for the surprise choice,” said the insider who admitted of being clueless on the exact reasons for his selection as none could recollect any specific instances that hinted to his proximity to the current leadership.
The power struggle in AIADMK, following the death of Jayalalithaa seems to have finally turned the focus on Rao as his absence from Chennai has led to speculation on the Centre’s role in TN politics.
When it comes to the post of VP Narsimhan comes from the official back ground, whereas Vidyasagar Rao comes from a Political back ground and a very sincere man. CHV is also a down to earth man with helping nature all the time. Very soft spoken and does not show any authority or superiority over others.
