Telugu Desam Party’s Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has become the youngest ever Union Minister after he took oath as a member of the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet on Sunday.
The 36-year-old was elected to the Lok Sabha from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh for a third consecutive term in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The US-educated leader is carrying forward the political legacy of his late father K. Yerran Naidu, who too had served as a Union Minister.
Yerran Naidu, a top leader of the TDP, had served as the Union Minister for Rural Development in the United Front government between 1996 and 1998.
One of the prominent faces of TDP, Ram Mohan Naidu retained the Srikakulam seat with a massive margin of over 3.27 lakh votes.
Born on December 18, 1987, in Srikakulam district, the young leader is one of the key faces of the TDP from north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
He pursued his undergraduate in electrical engineering from the Purdue University, followed by a postgraduate degree in MBA from Long Island.
Yerran Naidu’s death in a car accident in 2012 brought Ram Mohan into politics. At the age of 26, he contested and won the Lok Sabha polls from Srikakulam in 2014, making waves as the second youngest MP in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Ram Mohan, like his late father, is closely associated with TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Serving as a national General Secretary of the TDP, he is considered one of the key loyalists of Naidu, who is set to become the Chief Minister of the state.
Ram Mohan, along with Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, played a key role in Delhi in mobilising support for the TDP chief when he was arrested last year in a corruption case.
With fluency in English and Hindi, Ram Mohan has become an asset for the TDP who always accompanies Chandrababu Naidu during his visits to Delhi.
He served on various Parliamentary committees, underscoring his grip over diverse subjects. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing.
He also served as a member of the Standing Committees on Railways and Home Affairs, Consultative Committee on Ministry of Tourism and Culture, and the Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes and Official Language Department in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Ram Mohan was honoured with the Sansad Ratna award in 2020 for his performance as an MP.
Married to Shri Sravya in 2017, Ram Mohan was blessed with a girl in 2021.
Ram Mohan has also broken stereotypes in politics. His decision to take paternity leave during the 2021 budget session for his wife’s pregnancy sparked healthy discussions on gender rights and education. One of the first MPs to advocate for menstrual health education and sex education in the Parliament, Ram Mohan also actively campaigned for the removal of GST on sanitary pads.
He also took various initiatives to encourage youth participation in politics, conducting youth direct internships both in his constituency and in the Parliament over the last decade, with over 175 individuals interning with him virtually or on the field.
The young leader’s hobbies include photography, which he pursued seriously during his college days. He is also an avid sports enthusiast, with a particular fondness for basketball and cricket.
Ram Mohan’s uncle K. Atchen Naidu is the President of TDP’s Andhra Pradesh unit.