In 1974, he became the convener of Jayaprakash Narayan Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti of Andhra Pradesh. He took to the streets in protest against the Emergency and was imprisoned. From 1977 to 1980, he was president of its youth wing.
Both as a student leader and political figure, Naidu gained prominence as an orator who championed the cause of the farmers and the development of backward areas. His oratory skills and political activism propelled his political career, and he was elected as an MLA to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly twice from Udaygiri constituency in Nellore district in 1978 and 1983. He rose to become one of the most popular leaders of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After serving in various organisational posts of the BJP at the state and national level, he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in 1998.<ref name=mvn11>Template:Cite web</ref> He was re-elected twice, in 2004 and 2010, from Karnataka.<ref name="mvn 8">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=mvn10>Template:Cite web</ref> He served as the party spokesperson from 1996 to 2000, bringing to the job his panache for quirky alliterations and similes. Unlike most politicians from southern India, Naidu made an effort to master Hindi, going on to address public rallies in northern India.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
After the NDA victory in the 1999 general elections, he became the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development in the government headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.<ref name=mvn1>Template:Cite news</ref> He was known for aggressively pushing for reforms in rural development and for the many schemes introduced during this period such as the 'Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana'.<ref name=mvn2>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=mvn3>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=mvn4>Template:Cite news</ref>
National President of the BJP (2002–2004)
Naidu succeeded Jana Krishnamurthi as the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003.<ref name="mvn5">Template:Cite news</ref> On 28 January 2004, he was elected unopposed for a full three-year term.<ref name="mvn6">Template:Cite news</ref> After the defeat of the BJP-led NDA in the 2004 general elections, he resigned from his post on 18 October 2004 and was succeeded by L. K. Advani.<ref name="mvn 7">Template:Cite news</ref> However, he remained at the forefront of the BJP as one of its senior vice-presidents and an important campaigner. Naidu raised the "Special Status to Andhra Pradesh" issue in Rajya Sabha (as opposition member in February 2014) and demanded special category state status to Andhra Pradesh. The Prime Minister agreed to it, though it was not included in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
Following the victory of the BJP in the 2014 general elections, he was sworn in as the Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs on 26 May 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Naidu is also involved with the Swarna Bharat Trust, a social service organisation founded by him in Nellore.<ref name=venkaiah_sbt>Template:Cite news</ref> The trust runs a school for poor, orphaned and special-needs children and imparts self-employment training programsme, especially for women and youth.
He was nominated by the BJP on 29 May 2016 for the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan and was elected.
On 5 July 2016, he concurrently served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. A year later, he resigned from both offices to contest the 2017 vice presidential election. He won the election to become India's 13th Vice President.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He obtained 516 votes against UPA candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who received 244 votes. As his tenure ended, Naidu decided to move back to Hyderabad with his family and declared that he will resume his career in the service of the nation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was succeeded by Jagdeep Dhankhar on 11 August 2022.
