Nara Chandrababu Naidu ( born 20 April 1950) is an Indian politician and current leader of opposition of the
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsana Sabha is the lower house of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature.
The Legislative Assembly consists of 175 members which are elected by adult universal suffrage under the first-p ...
. He was also the leader of the opposition of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2014. He is also the former
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...
serving from 2014 to 2019.
He is the
National President
National may refer to:
Common uses
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** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
of the
Telugu Desam Party
The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has fo ...
(TDP). He also served as the convenor of
National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He suffered a major political setback in the
2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections by winning only 23 seats out of the 175 assembly segments. This was a never before seen defeat in the history of
Telugu Desam Party (TDP). His son,
Nara Lokesh
Nara Lokesh (born 23 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Bhuvaneshwari, and grandson of N. T. Rama Rao.
Lokesh beca ...
too lost in the elections from
Mangalagiri Assembly Constituency.
Early life and education
Naidu was born on 20 April 1950
at
Naravaripalle
Naravaripalle is a village in Tirupati. It is located in Chandragiri mandal in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seven ...
,
Tirupati district
Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. Tirupa ...
in present-day
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
in an agricultural family to Nara Kharjura Naidu and his wife Amanamma.
He has a younger brother
Nara Ramamurthy Naidu and two younger sisters. Naidu has
vitiligo
Vitiligo is a disorder that causes the skin to lose its color. Specific causes are unknown but studies suggest a link to immune system changes.
Signs and symptoms
The only sign of vitiligo is the presence of pale patchy areas of depigmen ...
, an autoimmune disease which causes white patches on the skin.
Since his village had no school, Naidu attended primary school in Seshapuram up to class five and the
Chandragiri
Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...
Government High School up to class 10. He completed his B.A. degree in 1972 from Sri Venkateshwara Arts College, Tirupati.
He did his Masters in Economics from
Sri Venkateswara University.
In 1974, under the guidance of professor Dr. D. L. Narayana he started work on his Ph.D. on the topic of ''Economic ideas of Professor N. G. Ranga,'' but did not complete his Ph.D.
Career
Congress Party MLA and minister
Naidu started his political activities as a students' union leader in Sri Venkateswara University while pursuing his Masters.
In 1975, he joined
Indian Youth Congress
The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. While ...
and became the president for its local chapter in
Pulicherla.
After
the emergency was imposed on the country in 1975, he became a close supporter of
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician and the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of parliament, Lok Sabha and the Nehru–Gandhi family. During his lifetime, he was widely expected ...
.
With the help of
N. G. Ranga, Naidu secured a candidacy from the Congress party, under its 20% quota for the youth, and became a
member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...
(MLA) for the
Chandragiri constituency in 1978 at the age of 28.
He served as a director of Andhra Pradesh Small Scale Industries Development Corporation.
Later, he was appointed as the minister for cinematography in
T. Anjaiah's government. He became the youngest MLA and the youngest minister, at the age of 28, in Andhra Pradesh at that time. After becoming a minister, he dropped his PhD program.
In 1979, he played a crucial role in electing G. Kuthuhalamma as Chittoor Zilla Parishad chief, against the official Congress candidate. Following this, he was suspended from the party for two months.
As the cinematography minister, Naidu came in contact with
N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...
, a popular film star in Telugu cinema. In 1980, he married Bhuvaneswari, Rao's second daughter.
Losing as MLA and joining Telugu Desam Party
In 1982,
N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...
formed the
Telugu Desam Party
The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has fo ...
(TDP) and swept the
assembly polls held in 1983. Chandrababu Naidu who was his son-in-law was still in the
Congress Party and he even dared contesting against his father-in-law, NTR and Telugu Desam Party. But Naidu lost in the elections as an MLA from
Chandragiri Assembly Constituency
Chandragiri Assembly constituency is a constituency of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, India. It is one among 14 constituencies in Tirupati district.
Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party is currently represen ...
.
Having no choice, he immediately left the Congress Party and joined Telugu Desam Party. He became the Finance and Revenue Minister in
N. T. Rama Rao's ministry.
Chief minister of United Andhra Pradesh (1995-2004)
Chandrababu Naidu who continued as a Minister in NTR's cabinet revolted against him to much surprise. He gathered many TDP MLAs in Viceroy Hotel and demonstrated a non co-operation against the then Chief Minsiter, NTR. This saw NTR losing his Chief Minister post. NTR was even expelled from the Party by Chandrababu Naidu and he eventually became the Chief Minister in 1995 with the support of party's MLAs.
This incident is also sometimes referred to as the backstabbing by Chandrababu Naidu. In an interview with ''
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
'', Rama Rao compared himself to
Shah Jahan, a 17th-century Mughal emperor who was imprisoned by his son, and predicted that he would gain his revenge against what he called "the backstabbers" in his family, especially his son-in-law and successor, Naidu.
NTR who was expelled from the Telugu Desam Party died in the year 1995 and the party continued under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu. The party won a majority in the state legislature, with
185 of 294 seats in the Assembly and 29 of 42 seats in the Parliament in the
1999 general election, making it the second-largest party in the BJP-led
NDA coalition government.
On 1 October 2003, Naidu survived a
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
blast by
People's War Group (PWG) near
Alipiri
Alipiri Padala Mandapam or Alipiri is the place at foot of seven hills in Tirupati, the pilgrim city of Sri Venkateswara Swami, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Alipiri is one of two ways to reach Tirumala on foot, and it was until rec ...
tollgate, within the vicinity of Alipiri police station.
A total of 17
claymore mines were planted, of which 9 exploded.
2004 and 2009 elections
Farmers and majortiy sections of people got fed up with Chandrababu Naidu for his non welfare policies. Chandrababu Naidu after the assassination attempt on him, dissolved the assembly and went for early elections but he suffered a major backlash and lost as Chief Minister by winning only 47 seats out of the total 294 assembly segments and 5 of 42 in the Lok Sabha.
This was a humiliating and never before seen defeat then for him and also Telugu Desam Party.
Chandrababu Naidu who lost in 2004 Assembly elections repeated the same result again in
2009 Assembly elections. He formed a grand alliance with
TRS Party, which pitched for the separate state of Telangana and also with
CPI and
CPM CPM may refer to:
Advertising
*Cost per mille, the advertising cost per thousand views
*Cost per impression, Cost per thousand impressions, the online advertising equivalent
Management
*Certified practising marketer, a qualification for Australi ...
. This didn't go well with the people and he experienced the same defeat again. He and his party were restricted to only 92 seats out of 294 seats in the state assembly. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy became the Chief Minister of the state again for the second time in 2009. He died the same year in a
helicopter crash, just after commencing his second term.
Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh (2014-2019)
In 2014, Congress party passed the
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that bifurcated the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telanga ...
which Naidu too supported for the bifurcation.
After the bifurcation of the Andhra Pradesh, Naidu and formed an alliance again with the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
and
Jana Sena Party
Jana Sena or Jana Sena Party (JSP) (''People's Army Party'') is an Indian Regional political party based in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India. It was founded by Tollywood actor and politician Pawan Kalyan on 14 March 2014. ''Jana Sena'' ...
and returned to power in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
state, winning 102 seats out of 175 seats. The inclusion of Bharatiya Janata Party in the alliance made people believe that the state may get developed due to the central government's support. This made TDP win an outright majority. Naidu took oath as the first Chief Minister of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh at
Mangalagiri
Mangalagiri is a South Suburb of Vijayawada in Guntur district of Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town is a part of Mangalagiri Tadepalle Municipal Corporation and part of Tenali revenue division. It is a major sub urban of Vijayawada and ...
on the grounds of
Acharya Nagarjuna University near
Guntur.
2015 Cash for Vote Scam
The 2015 cash-for-votes scam was a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, uneth ...
, the second scandal of its kind since the 2008
cash-for-votes scandal
The cash-for-votes scandal was an Indian political scandal allegedly masterminded by then Opposition Party Bharatiya Janata Party politician Sudheendra Kulkarni in which the United Progressive Alliance, the majority-holding parliamentary-party ...
. It started off when the TDP leaders of
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
state were caught in video footage, aired in the media, offering bribes to a nominated MLA, Elvis Stephenson, for his vote in the 2015 elections of the
Telangana Legislative Council
The Telangana Legislative Council or Telangana Saasana Mandali is the upper house of the Telangana Legislature of the Indian state of Telangana; the lower house being the Telangana Legislative Assembly. It is situated in the state capital of ...
. The TDP MLA
Revanth Reddy
Anumula Revanth Reddy (born 8 November 1969) is an Indian politician from Telangana. He is the Member of parliament (MP) in the 17th Lok Sabha, from the Indian National Congress representing the Malkajgiri constituency. He was a two-time Membe ...
was arrested by the Telangana Police when he was offering to Stephenson. Reddy was then presented before the court and was sent to jail. Similarly, the phone conversation, which was quoted as the voice of Naidu with Stephenson was aired in the news media.
In August 2016,
Alla Ramakrishna Reddy filed a petition with a report from a forensic laboratory which confirmed the voice of Naidu in the tape to be genuine. The
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court order the Telangana division of the ACB to investigate on the report. Naidu was not included in the preliminary charge sheet filed by the
Enforcement Directorate
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gover ...
in May 2021 in connection with the case.
Making his son a minister in the cabinet
Chandrababu Naidu after becoming the chief minister made his son,
Nara Lokesh
Nara Lokesh (born 23 January 1983) is an Indian politician. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Bhuvaneshwari, and grandson of N. T. Rama Rao.
Lokesh beca ...
a Minister under his cabinet. This received criticism as his son, Nara Lokesh didn't even contest as an MLA for once and was given a cabinet minister through an MLC post. This didn't go well with people and also political observers.
Special status dispute and break with BJP
BJP promised special status to Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation but went back on it. Chandrababu Naidu who was in alliance with BJP too was not bothered about it and started going against people's will. There were many appeals from people to him to support the movement. But he put a blind eye on it. He even publicly said that there was no use with special status and continued in the alliance with BJP till 2018.
People started doing agitations and movements for the Speical status across the state. Chandrababu Naidu suppressed all these agitations and movements.
Some of TDP leaders even openly criticized people for these agitations. This ultimately brought a great backlash from people. After sensing this great backlash from the people, he took a U- turn on the issue and started supporting the movement.
This U-turn completely damaged him and made people move away from him.
After receiving a great backlash from people regarding the special status, Chandrababu Naidu who formed an alliance with BJP before 2014 elections came out of the alliance fearing a defeat in the upcoming 2019 elections. Ironically, he started accusing the Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
and some of the leaders of BJP for not granting Special Status to Andhra Pradesh.
He had also ridiculously started supporting the Special Status movement after suppressing the very movement for so long.
This brought a bad name to him from people's side heavily.
He even went forward and planned a movement, ''Dharma Porata Deeksha'' accusing BJP and Narendra Modi of not granting Special Status to Andhra Pradesh. He even planned the movement in Delhi and took many TDP leaders to Delhi by a train and staged a hunger-strike protest. All these political gimmicks didn't go well with the people. These U-turn tactics have ultimately damaged him completely.
Alliance with the Congress Party
Chandrababu Naidu after coming out of alliance with BJP formed an alliance with Telugu Desam Party's rival Congress Party. This didn't go well with people and many political observers.
Congress Party is regarded as the rival party of TDP for many years.
It is also the party which bifurcated the state hastily. Forming an alliance with such Party completely damaged the image of TDP.
Leader of the opposition (2019–present)
Led by Naidu, TDP lost the
2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election to the
YSR Congress Party
The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth la ...
led by
Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. It was the party's biggest defeat since its inception in 1982; TDP won 23 assembly seats out of 175 and 3
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
seats out of 25.
Political alliances
Chandrababu Naidu has a history of alliances with almost every party of the state except with
YSR Congress Party
The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth la ...
.
He got into alliance with
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
,
Congress Party,
TRS,
CPI,
CPM CPM may refer to:
Advertising
*Cost per mille, the advertising cost per thousand views
*Cost per impression, Cost per thousand impressions, the online advertising equivalent
Management
*Certified practising marketer, a qualification for Australi ...
and
Janasena Party. Naidu also has a bad reputation of not winning the elections without an alliance.
He also earned a bad name of coming out of the alliances with all the parties he aligned with for his own political reasons.
Business career
The Heritage Group (HFL) was incorporated by Naidu in 1992. In 1994, HFL went for public issue to raise resources. Currently, the organisation is being led by Nara Brahmani, Naidu's daughter-in-law. Heritage has hundreds of outlets throughout Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and a significant presence in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, NCR-Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh which comprises a solid portion of Naidu's current assets.
Awards and recognition
*The then
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
,
Jim Edgar
James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...
, created a ''Naidu day'' on 24 September 1998 in his honour.
* Voted ''IT Indian of the Millennium'' in a poll by ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'' and 20:20 Media.
*He was named ''South Asian of the Year'' in 1999 by ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine, USA
*In 2001, he was described as one of the hidden "''Seven working wonders around the world''", by
Profit, a monthly magazine published by
Oracle Corporation, US.
*''Business Person of the Year'' by
Economic Times.
*''Golden Peacock Award'' for Leadership in Public Service & Economic Transformation - 2017
*''Global Agriculture Policy Leadership Award'' by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA).
* The Pune-based organisation, Bharatiya Chatra Sansad, in partnership with MIT School of Governance, honoured him with ''Aadarsh Mukhyamantri Puraskar'' (Model CM Award) in its 6th annual session on 30 January 2016.
*''Transformative Chief Minister Award'' in May 2017 by US-India Business Council (USIBC) at West Coast Summit in the
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
.
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
Books
* ''India's Glocal Leader'', Tejaswini Pagadala
* ''Manasulo Maata'', Sevanthi Nenon, An Autobiography of Chandrababu Naidu
*''Nirantar Pragathi Ke Path Par Chandrababu Naidu'' (in Hindi), Dr. Inagati Lavanya
Case studies
*''New Modern Economy Management in Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study of Sri Honorable Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu'' by authors N. Sree Ramulu and Morusu Siva Sankar
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naidu, N. Chandrababu
1950 births
Living people
People from Chittoor district
Sri Venkateswara University alumni
Telugu politicians
Telugu Desam Party politicians
Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh
Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh
Chief ministers from Telugu Desam Party
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1978–1983
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1989–1994
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1994–1999
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1999–2004
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2004–2009
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2014–2019
Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2019–2024
People with vitiligo