Rajeev Chandrasekhar

In this Indian name, the name Chandrasekhar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Rajeev.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Official portrait, 2021
President of Bharatiya Janata Party, Kerala
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 March 2025
National PresidentJ. P. Nadda
Nitin Nabin
Preceded byK. Surendran
Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology
In office
7 July 2021 – 9 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterAshwini Vaishnaw
Preceded bySanjay Dhotre
Succeeded byJitin Prasada
Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
In office
7 July 2021 – 9 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
MinisterDharmendra Pradhan
Preceded byR. K. Singh
Succeeded byJayant Chaudhary (as MoS I/C)
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
23 April 2006 – 2 April 2024
ConstituencyKarnataka
Personal details
Born (1964-05-31) 31 May 1964
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
PartyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseAnju Chandrasekhar
RelationsT. P. G. Nambiar (father-in-law)
Children2
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician

Rajeev Chandrasekhar (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian politician, entrepreneur, and technocrat. He currently serves as the state president of BJP Kerala.[1] A prominent voice in India's digital and economic policy, he is a former Union Minister, having served as the Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Before his ministerial appointments, Chandrasekhar served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka for multiple terms between 2006 and 2024. Initially serving as an independent MP elected with broad legislative support,[4] he officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2018.[3] Within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he has also held the roles of national spokesperson and vice-chairman of the coalition's Keralam unit.[5][6]

Throughout his parliamentary career, Chandrasekhar has been instrumental in shaping national policy, serving as a Member of the Joint Committee on the Data Protection Bill, 2019, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and the Consultative Committee on MoE & IT. He has also been a member of the Indian Council for World Affairs and served on the Rajya Sabha Select Committees for both the GST[7] and Real Estate bills.[8]

Early life and education

Rajeev Chandrasekhar was born to a Malayali family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His father, M. K. Chandrasekhar, was an Air Commodore in the Indian Air Force and a trainer of Rajesh Pilot, and his mother is Anandavalli Amma.[1][2] His family hails from Desamangalam in the Thrissur district of Kerala.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar studied at St. Paul's Convent School in Thrissur and completed his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bengaluru. He then studied electrical engineering at the Manipal Institute of Technology.[3] He obtained his master's degree in computer science in 1988 from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.[4][2]

Career

Entrepreneur

In 1991, after returning to India, Rajeev Chandrasekhar joined the BPL Group. In 1994, he founded BPL Mobile, which grew into one of the major telecom companies in India, holding key licenses in markets such as Mumbai. In July 2005, he sold his 64 per cent stake in BPL Communications to the Essar Group for US$1.1 billion.

Chandrasekhar founded Jupiter Capital in 2005, with an initial investment of US$100 million. The investment firm has investments and managed assets of over US$800 million in technology, media, hospitality, and entertainment.[3]

In April 2013, Chandrasekhar was awarded an honorary degree by Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, in recognition of his work as an entrepreneur.[2]

Media

In 2006, Rajeev Chandrasekhar expanded into media by acquiring a majority stake in Asianet Communications through Jupiter Capital Private Limited. In late 2008, he formed a joint venture with News Corp, establishing Asianet Star Communications.[2]

Asianet News Network Private Limited, incorporated in May 2008 under his leadership, serves as the holding company for key outlets including Asianet News, Asianet Suvarna News, and the digital portal Newsable.

In 2016, his group invested approximately ₹60 crore in ARG Outlier Media, supporting the launch of Republic TV. [3][4] Following his election to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP member in 2018, the stake was diluted in compliance with parliamentary disclosure norms in 2019.[5][6]

Chandrasekhar at the 10th Foundation Day of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2017

Politics

Member of Parliament

Chandrasekhar began his parliamentary career as an Independent member of the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka, serving from April 2006 to April 2018.[5][6] In April 2018, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka for a third six-year term as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[7][4]

Political Career and Ministerial Roles

In July 2021, Chandrasekhar was inducted into the Second Modi ministry as a Minister of State.[1] Leveraging his background as a technocrat, he was assigned key portfolios, serving concurrently as the Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Prior to his ministerial tenure, he served as a national spokesperson for the BJP.[2]

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chandrasekhar was fielded as the BJP candidate for the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala.[3] In a highly competitive contest, he secured a significant vote share but lost to the incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor by a narrow margin of 16,077 votes.[4] Following the election, Chandrasekhar continued to expand his political leadership in Keralam, subsequently taking on the role of state president of BJP Keralam.

Chandrasekhar contested from the Nemom constituency as BJP-NDA candidate in the April 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, with the final results scheduled to be declared on May 4, 2026.[5]

Rajeev Chandrasekhar in 2022 at Nagaland

Personal life

Rajeev is married to Anju Chandrasekhar (m. 1991), the daughter of T. P. G. Nambiar, the founder of BPL Group.[6] They have a son, Ved, and a daughter Devika.[7]

Awards and accolades

  • Honoured by Army's Western Command GOC-in Commendation for his work for the Armed Forces and Veterans.
  • India Today magazine ranked him #41st in India's 50 Most Powerful People of 2017 list.[8]
Year Name Awarding organization Ref.
2007 IIT Global Service Award. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. [9]
2013 Honorary Doctor of Science Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum
2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award Manipal Institute of Technology
2016 GOC-in-C Commendation Indian Army Western Command

References

  1. ^ Service, Express News (25 March 2025). "Rajeev Chandrasekhar takes over as president of BJP's Kerala unit". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. ^ "From Intel To Minister Of State, The Journey Of Rajeev Chandrasekhar". Moneycontrol. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ Rajshekhar, Chandrasekhar (15 December 2025). "Branded 'outsider', Rajeev emerges power player after Thiruvanthapuram show". The New Indian Express.
  4. ^ Shaju, Philip (17 March 2026). "BJP's Kerala list: Rajeev Chandrasekhar fielded from key Nemom seat as party bets on heavyweights, Christian faces". The Indian Express.
  5. ^ Shaju, Philip (17 March 2026). "BJP's Kerala list: Rajeev Chandrasekhar fielded from key Nemom seat as party bets on heavyweights, Christian faces". The Indian Express.
  6. ^ "Rajeev Chandrasekhar: The tech-savvy politician ready to transform Kerala BJP". Mathrubhumi. 23 March 2025.
  7. ^ Shaju, Philip (1 April 2026). "Many promises in BJP's Kerala poll manifesto –- from AIIMS to pension hike to free LPG". IndianExpress.com.
  8. ^ "India's 50 powerful people". India Today. 14 April 2017.
  9. ^ "2007 Alumni Award winners". Illinois Institute of Technology. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

Further reading

  • Sanghvi, Vir (2012). Men of Steel. Roli Books Private Limited. ISBN 9788174368256.
  • Denyer, Simon (2012). Rogue Elephant: Harnessing the Power of India's Unruly Democracy. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408849767.


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