Rajeev Chandrasekhar
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Rajeev Chandrasekhar (born 31 May 1964) is an Indian politician, entrepreneur, and technocrat. He currently serves as the state president of BJP Keralam. 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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
Personal life
Rajeev is married to Anju Chandrasekhar (m. 1991), the daughter of T. P. G. Nambiar, the founder of BPL Group. They have a son, Ved, and a daughter Devika.
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.
| Year | Name | Awarding organization | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | IIT Global Service Award. | Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. | |
| 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 |
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.
External links
- on Rajya Sabha website