Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Rajeev Chandrasekhar | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2021 | |
| President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2025 | |
| National President | J. P. Nadda Nitin Nabin |
| Preceded by | K. Surendran |
| Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology | |
| In office 7 July 2021 – 9 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Ashwini Vaishnaw |
| Preceded by | Sanjay Dhotre |
| Succeeded by | Jitin Prasada |
| Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | |
| In office 7 July 2021 – 9 June 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Dharmendra Pradhan |
| Preceded by | R. K. Singh |
| Succeeded by | Jayant Chaudhary (as MoS I/C) |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 23 April 2006 – 2 April 2024 | |
| Constituency | Karnataka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 May 1964 |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Anju Chandrasekhar |
| Relations | T. P. G. Nambiar (father-in-law) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
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| Title | Vice-Chairman of VIF Centre for Economic Chairman of Asianet News Online |
Rajeev Chandrasekhar Menon (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian entrepreneur, owner of Asianet News Online Pvt Ltd and politician currently serving as the state president of BJP Kerala. He is the son-in-law of T. P. Gopalan Nambiar, the founder of the BPL Group. He joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2018 a day after being made the party's Rajya Sabha candidate for the biennial election to the upper house from Karnataka. From 2006 to 2018, he served as an independent Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) representing Karnataka, winning elections in 2006 and 2012 with cross-party support from Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs. During these campaigns, allegations emerged that being a wealthy businessman he paid MLAs to secure their votes, a claim that surfaced amid broader reports of cash-for-votes in Karnataka's 2006 Rajya Sabha polls. He is a former junior minister, Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. He lost his ministerial credentials after losing his elections in Thiruvananthapuram and was not offered a ministerial position in new coalition formed under National Democratic Alliance.
He has served as the national spokesperson and vice-chairman of the Kerala faction of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Chandrasekhar served as Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Member of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Member of the Joint Committee on Data Protection Bill, 2019 and Member of the Consultative Committee on MoE & IT, Ministry of Communications, Member of the Indian Council for World Affairs.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar served as a member of the Parliament, Standing Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee on Finance, the Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps, Co-chairman of District Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee, Bangalore Urban District. He served as member Rajya Sabha Select Committees for the GST and Real Estate bills. Chandrasekhar is the founder and Advisor to the Board of Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd.