Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju

Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Minister for Civil Aviation
Assumed office
26 May 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Preceded by Ajit Singh
Member of the Indian Parliament
for Vizianagaram
Assumed office
16 May 2014
Preceded by Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi
Member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
for Vizianagaram

In office
1978 – 2004

2009 – 2014

Succeeded by Geetha Meesala
Personal details
Born (1951-06-26) 26 June 1951
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Political party Telugu Desam Party
Spouse(s) Suneela Gajapathi Raju
Children Two daughters (Adithi and Vidyavathi)
Residence Vizianagaram
Alma mater Scindia School,[1] Andhra University[2]
Religion Hindu

Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju (born 26 June 1951) is an Indian politician and the Union Minister for Civil Aviation in the Narendra Modi Government. A scion of Royal family of Vizayanagram princly state, he is the younger son of the last Maharaja of Vizianagram.[3][4]

Personal life

Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju comes from the Pusapati royal family of the Vizianagaram estate. He is the son of Maharaja Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapathi Raju, the last Maharaja of Vizianagram. His family is known for its philanthropy through its temples that include the famous Simhachalam temple and the Maharaja Narayandav Raju Society for Arts and Sciences which runs a number of education institutions. He was educated at Scindia School Gwalior, Hyderabad Public School and V.S. Krishna College, Visakhapatnam.[2] His father Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju and his brother Pusapati Ananda Gajapathi Raju were also Indian parliamentarians and ministers in the state government.[5][6]

Political career

He won the Vizianagaram Vidhan Sabha constituency for the first time as Janata Party candidate in 1978. He joined the Telugu Desam Party when it was formed in 1982 and won the state assembly elections of 1983, 1985, 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2009. He won the 2014 Indian general election to the 16th Lok Sabha from Vizianagaram.[7] He served Andhra Pradesh as a Cabinet Minister for Excise,Commercial Taxes,Finance,Revenue and Legislative Affairs in State Government.He is a Politburo member in the Telugu Desam Party.Presently he is the Union minister for Civil Aviaton in the National Democratic Alliance cabinet since 26 May 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati gets Civil Aviation Ministry". indiainfoline.com.
  2. 1 2 BS Reporter (26 May 2014). "Ashok Gajapathi Raju". Business Standard. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Analysis, Daily News & (26 May 2014). "Ashok Gajapathi Raju: The man with the "Royal Touch"". dna. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "VIZIANAGRAM". iinet.net.au.
  5. ↑ "P Ashok Gajapathi Raju | The Kshatriyas Association of North America". Thekshatriyas.org. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Aviation minister shuns privileges, stands in queue, takes bus to aircraft". Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Constituencywise-All Candidates". Eciresults.nic.in. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
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