Venkaiah Naidu sworn-in as 13th Vice-President of India; takes over as Rajya Sabha Chairman

M Venkaiah Naidu was on Friday sworn-in as India's 13th Vice-President during a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

Naidu was administered the oath by President Ram Nath Kovind.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders.

NDA candidate Naidu was elected after receiving an overwhelming two-third votes against opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

By virtue of being the Vice President, Naidu will also preside over the Rajya Sabha as the Chairman.

"Coming from an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in Indian polity." Naidu had said.

On Thursday, Naidu said the government needs parliamentary approval to push legislations so it can implement the agenda for which it had received the people's mandate.

A two-term BJP president, Naidu was also elected to the Rajya Sabha three times from Karnataka. He represented Rajasthan in the Upper House of Parliament before he was nominated to the vice president's post by the NDA.

Once an L K Advani protege, Naidu vigorously backed Modi for the prime minister's post before the 2014 elections.

He was minister for information and broadcasting and housing and urban affairs in the Modi government and earlier held the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio.