Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party has become the youngest Union Minister to assume office under the Narendra Modi Cabinet.
He is just 36 years old and has won his third consecutive term in the recent General Elections to represent the Srikakulam Lok Sabha constituency from Andhra Pradesh.
Having been educated in the United States, Naidu is continuing the political journey of his late father K. Yerran Naidu, who also became a Union Minister.
Yerran Naidu's portfolio as a Union Minister in the United Front government was Rural Development, which he held from 1996 to 1998.
Ram Mohan Naidu is a familiar name in TDP's political circle and emerged victorious in Srikakulam with an impressive margin of over 3.27 lakh votes.
Born on December 18, 1987 in the Srikakulam district, Naidu has always been a towering figure of the TDP in north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Having pursued electrical engineering in his undergraduate from Purdue University, he got an MBA from Long Island.
After the unforeseen death of his father in a car accident in January 2012, Ram Mohan took up the political challenge. Aged 26, he contested from Srikakulam and won the Lok Sabha elections from the same turn in the 16 Lok Sabha, thus becoming the second youngest MP.
With a legacy bequested by his late father, Ram Mohan has always been one of the key men around TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Being a national General Secretary of the TDP, he is always a visible face among the close aides of Chandrababu Naidu, who is seen as a possible successor to the latter as the Chief Minister.
Ram Mohan and Chandrababu Naidu's son, Nara Lokesh, have been on the forefront of standing up for the TDP chief when he was arrested last year in a corruption case.
He is considered a valuable face in the TDP party with his proficiency in English and Hindi and frequently accompanies Chandrababu Naidu during his visits to Delhi.
His diverse parliamentary contributions include his membership of various committees, such as Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Food Processing, Railways, Home Affairs, Tourism, Culture, Welfare of Other Backward Classes, and Official Language Department, 16th Lok Sabha.
For his excellent work, Ram Mohan was awarded the Sansad Ratna award in 2020.
He is married to Shri Sravya since 2017 and was blessed with a daughter in 2021.
Going against stereotypes, when Ram Mohan announced to everyone during the 2021 budget session that he was on paternity leave, the matter stirred debates regarding gender rights and education. He has also been vociferously demanding the inclusion of menstrual health education in the curriculum and the tax-free status on sanitary pads through severing GST.
He is a strong advocate of youth participation in politics, including internships from his constituency in the Lok Sabha and parliament, for which more than 175 youngsters have interned with him, both physically and virtually.
Apart from politics, Ram Mohan continues to pursue his passion for photography, developed since his college days, and is a sports enthusiast, being an avid follower of basketball and cricket.
His uncle is K. Atchen Naidu, president of TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit.
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