Vasantrao Naik

Vasantrao Naik Biography

Vasantrao Naik, also called V. P. Naik was a politician who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963 until 1975. An influential leader of state politics, he is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Maharashtra up-to-date. He is the only Chief Minister from the state who has been continuously elected to the chief minister post for three consecutive state assemblies. Naik was elected Chief Minister of Maharashtra following the death of CM, Marotrao Kannamwar. Vasantrao Naik is considered the father of the Green Revolution in Maharashtra, and has played a significant contribution in the industrialization of the state. In 1977 he got elected to parliament from Washim constituency. V. P. Naik died in Singapore on 18 August 1979.

V. P. Naik was born in Gavli, Pusad of Yavatmal district in 1913. In the post-independent period he became actively involved with state politics, and got elected to Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh in 1952, where he served a term of 5 years. It was followed by him terms in 1957-1960 from Mumbai and 1960-1977 from Maharashtra. He became Deputy Minister for Revenue in the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 1952. He served as the Minister for Revenue in the Government of Maharashtra during 1960-1963, prior to his tenure as Chief Minister. He was elected the Chief Minister following the death of Marotrao Kannamwar.

A staunch supporter of Yashwantrao Chavan, his experience in grassroots politics made him a responsible legislator. He passed away on 18 August 1979 in Singapore. In 2013 the centenary celebrations of Vasantrao Naik was held at Mumbai. The celebration was inaugurated by Prime Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan announced that the Parbhani Agriculture University will be renamed after Naik.

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Updated: July 01, 2017