Ram Naik (born 16 April 1934) is a veteran

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n politician from the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

, served as the 27th Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Political career

Ram Naik was a member of the 13th

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...

and was Minister of Oil and Natural Gas in the

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

cabinet (1999–2004). He was instrumental in introducing Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme. He was the BJP candidate for elections to the 14th Lok Sabha representing

Mumbai North Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency (formerly, Bombay City North Lok Sabha constituency) is one of the 48 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies of Maharashtra state in western India. Assembly segments Before delimitation, Mumbai North Lo ...

, but lost to famous Bollywood actor Govinda, an INC candidate from Virar. A

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

volunteer since childhood, he holds a law degree. He started his political career with the

Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...

in 1964 and was involved in organizing a group of rail commuters in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. He represented Borivali in the state assembly in 1978 and was re-elected twice, before becoming Minister of State for Railways in 1998, when he was influential in forming the

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is an Indian public sector undertaking responsible to execute railway projects under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) as sanctioned by Ministry of Railways for enhancing suburban rail transportation ...

. In 2004 he published a statement in which he demanded apology from the Prime Minister

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and chairwoman Sonia Gandhi for removal of quotes from statues dedicated to the Indian revolutionaries, such as

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

Madan Lal Dhingra Madan Lal Dhingra (18 September 1883 — 17 August 1909) was an Indian revolutionary, pro-independence activist. While studying in England, he assassinated William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a British official. Early life Madan Lal Dhingra was b ...

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationa ...

, Bhagat Singh, and

Bahadur Shah Zafar Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

. Ram Naik announced in September 2013 that he will not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls. On 14 July 2014 he was named as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Within a few months of his being appointed governor, he stated that "The Ram Temple should be built as soon as possible, this is what the people of this country want and their wishes should be fulfilled." The theme was immediately backed up by

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), t ...

groups. Subsequently, his

remarks seem to have been reined in by

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...

Personal life

He was born in

Sangli district Sangli district (Marathi pronunciation: aːŋɡli is a district of Maharashtra state in India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. It is bordered by Satara district, Solapur district to the North, Karnataka state to South-East, by Kolh ...

of Maharashtra state. He married Kunda Naik on 17 May 1960 and has two daughters.

Positions held

*1969–1977 – Organising Secretary, Bharatiya Jan Sangh,

*1977–1978 – General Secretary,

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nat ...

, Mumbai *1978–1989 – Member, Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra (3 terms) *1979–1980 – President,

, Mumbai *1980–1986 – President, BJP, Mumbai *1986–1989 – Vice President, BJP, Maharashtra *1989 – Elected to 9th Lok Sabha *1991 – Elected to 10th Lok Sabha *1999 – Elected to 13th Lok Sabha *1999–2004 – Union Cabinet Minister, Petroleum and Natural Gas *since 2004 – President, All India Disciplinary Committee of BJP * 2014–2019 Governor of Uttar Pradesh

References

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External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India websiteOfficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naik, Ram Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Maharashtra 1934 births Living people Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 People from Sangli district Marathi politicians Politicians from Mumbai Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Governors of Uttar Pradesh Governors of Rajasthan Maharashtra MLAs 1985–1990 Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministers of India