- O. Rajagopal
-
O. Rajagopal Former Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Personal details Born 15 September 1929
Pudukkod, PalakkadPolitical party BJP 
Spouse(s) Dr. Shantha Kumari Children Vivekanand , Shyamaprasad (filmmaker) Residence Trivandrum, Kerala Religion Hindu Website orajagopal.com O. Rajagopal (born September 15, 1929) is an Indian public figure and former Union Minister who is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Due to the low odds of election in the state of Kerala,[1] Rajagopal represented Madhya Pradesh (a state he is not domiciled in) in the Rajya Sabha from 1992 until 2004[2][3]
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Early life
He was born on September 15, 1929 to Madhavan Nair and O. Konhikkavu Amma of Olanchery veedu at Pudukkad Panchayath in Palakkad. His early education took place in Kanakkannoor elementary school and Manjapra Upper Primary school and later went to Government Victoria College, Palakkad.
His Law education was undertaken in Chennai and after he completed his studies in law, he began practicing law in 1956 at the Palakkad District Court.[4]
Jana Sangh work
He was inspired by Deendayal Upadhyaya and began working in the Jana Sangh shortly after completing his studies. The death of Upadhyaya in 1968 spurred Rajagopal to pursue his public career more deeply. He was the State General Secretary of Jana Sangh until 1974. That same year, he was promoted to the post of President, a post he held until 1977.[4][5]
In the Emergency period he was jailed with Mr.V.Velankutty Master (Palakkad District President of Jansangh) in Viyyur Central Jail.After the Indian emergency the Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party. During this period of time Rajagopal served as the State General Secretary for the Jana Sangh.
BJP work
In 1980, the Janata Party split and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed. Rajagopal then served as its Kerala president until 1985.After 1985 he occupied a number of positions, including the All India Secretary, General Secretary, and the Vice President of BJP.[4] In 1989 he ran for a Lok Sabha from Manjeri but failed. Two years later, he attempted to run for the Trivandrum (Lok Sabha constituency) seat but failed again because BJP candidates are nearly unelectable in Kerala. His next run took place in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He was elected in 1992 and 1998 to the Rajya Sabha. In 1999 he attempted a second run from Thiruvananthapuram but failed again.[1] In 2006, there were rumors that Rajagopal would contest elections from Palakkad in the assembly elections for Kerala.[6]
2004 Lok Sabha Election
Indian general elections, 2004: Trivandrum Party Candidate Votes % ±% CPI P. K. Vasudevan Nair 286,057 37.45 +1.22 Congress V.S.Sivakumar 231,454 30.30 -7.85 BJP O. Rajagopal 228,052 29.86 +8.93 Majority 54,603 Turnout References
- ^ a b Candidate Watch - 'O. Rajagopal, BJP candidate, Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat' The Hindu - April 28, 2004
- ^ Diluting MLAs’ rights The Tribune, Chandigarh - October 31, 2001
- ^ 18 outsiders in Rajya Sabha The Hindu - June 10, 2004
- ^ a b c Life & Career - Keral.com
- ^ Positions Held - Keral.com
- ^ BJP's O Rajagopal to contest from Palakkad Rediff - March 06, 2006
Categories:- Malayali politicians
- Bharatiya Janata Party politicians
- Indian lawyers
- People from Kerala
- 1929 births
- Living people
- Indian Hindus
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