Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014)

To gain an independent state based on linguistic identity, and to protect the interests of the Telugu people of Madras State, Potti Sreeramulu fasted to death in 1952. As Madras became a bone of contention, in 1949 a JVP committee report stated: "Andhra Province could be formed provided the Andhras give up their claim on the city of Madras (now Chennai)". After Potti Sreeramulu's death, the Telugu-speaking area of Andhra State was carved out of Madras State on 30 November 1953, with Kurnool as its capital city.^[1] On the basis of the gentlemen's agreement of 1 November 1956, the States Reorganisation Act formed Andhra Pradesh by merging Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking areas of the then-existing Hyderabad State.^[2] Hyderabad was made the capital of the new state. The Marathi-speaking areas of Hyderabad State merged with Bombay State which later bifurcated in Gujarat and Maharashtra and the Kannada-speaking areas were merged with Mysore State which was later renamed as Karnataka.^[3]

In February 2014, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 bill was passed by the Parliament of India for the formation of the Telangana state comprising ten districts. Hyderabad will remain as a joint capital for not exceeding ten years.^[4] The new state of Telangana came into existence on 2 June 2014 after approval from the President of India.^[5] Number of petitions questioning the validity of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 have long been pending for the verdict since April 2014 before the supreme court constitutional bench.^[6][7]

The Visalandhra, Vishalandhra or Vishala Andhra was a movement in post-independence India for a united state for all Telugu speakers, a Greater Andhra (Telugu: విశాలాంధ్ర Viśālāndhra). This movement was led by the Communist Party of India under the banner of Andhra Mahasabha with a demand to merge all the Telugu-speaking areas into one state. ^{[citation needed]} (The Communist Party of India demanded the formation of similar linguistic states across India.) The movement succeeded and a separate state of Andhra Pradesh was formed by merging Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad State (Telangana) with Andhra State on 1 November 1956 as part of the States Reorganisation Act. (Andhra State had been previously carved out of Madras State on 1 October 1953.) However, on 2 June 2014, Telangana State separated again from Andhra Pradesh and the Vishalandhra movement came to an end. The residual Andhra Pradesh now has approximately the same borders.

• 
  Potti Sreeramulu, whose fast unto death in 1952 led to the formation of Andhra State
• 
  Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (completed in 1967)
• 
  NT Rama Rao, a film actor, who became chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1983
• 
  Mee Seva office (initial launch of the E-Seva Project in 2001)

To gain an independent state based on linguistic identity and to protect the interests of the Telugu-speaking people of Madras State, Potti Sreeramulu fasted to death in 1952. As the city of Madras became a bone of contention, in 1949 a committee with Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya was constituted. The committee recommended that Andhra State could be formed provided the Andhras gave up their claim on the city of Madras (now Chennai). After Potti Sreeramulu's death, the Telugu-speaking area of Andhra State was carved out of Madras State on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital city. Tanguturi Prakasam became the first chief minister. Based on the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1956, the States Reorganisation Act created Andhra Pradesh by merging the neighbouring Telugu-speaking areas of the Hyderabad State with Hyderabad as the capital on 1 November 1956.^[8]

The Indian National Congress (INC) ruled the state from 1956 to 1982. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy became the first chief minister. Among other chief ministers, P. V. Narasimha Rao is known for implementing land reforms and land ceiling acts and securing a reservation for lower castes in politics.^[9] Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, completed in 1967, and Srisailam Dam, completed in 1981, are some of the irrigation projects that helped increase the production of paddy in the state.^[10]

In 1983, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won the state elections, and N. T. Rama Rao became the chief minister of the state for the first time after launching his party just nine months earlier.^[11] This broke the long-time single-party monopoly enjoyed by the INC. He transformed the sub-district administration by forming mandals in place of earlier taluks, removing hereditary village heads, and appointing non-hereditary village revenue assistants.^[12] The 1989 elections ended the rule of Rao, with the INC returning to power with Marri Chenna Reddy at the helm. In 1994, Andhra Pradesh gave a mandate to the Telugu Desam Party again, and Rao became the chief minister again. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Rao's son-in-law, came to power in 1995 with the backing of a majority of the MLAs. The Telugu Desam Party won both the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in 1999 under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu. Thus, Naidu held the record for the longest-serving chief minister (1995–2004) of the united Andhra Pradesh.^[13] He introduced e-governance by launching e-Seva centres in 2001 for paperless and speedy delivery of government services. He is credited with transforming Hyderabad into an IT hub by providing incentives for tech companies to set up centres.^[14]

In 2004, Congress returned to power with a new chief ministerial face, YS Rajashekara Reddy, better known as YSR. The main emphasis during Reddy's tenure was on social welfare schemes such as free electricity for farmers, health insurance, tuition fee reimbursement for the poor, and the national rural employment guarantee scheme. He took over the free emergency ambulance service initiated by a corporation and ran it as a government project. INC won the 2009 elections under the leadership of YSR in April.^[15] He was elected chief minister again but was killed in a helicopter crash that occurred in September 2009. He was succeeded by Congressmen Konijeti Rosaiah and Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy; the latter resigned over the impending division of the state to form Telangana.^[16]

During its 58 years as a unified state, the state weathered separatist movements from Telangana (1969) and Andhra (1972) successfully.^[17] A new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi, formed in April 2001 by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), reignited the Telangana movement. A joint action committee formed with political parties, government employees, and the general public spearheaded the agitation. When KCR's health deteriorated due to his fast-unto-death undertaking, the central government decided to initiate the process of forming an independent Telangana in December 2009. This triggered the Samaikyandhra movement to keep the state united. The Srikrishna committee was formed to give recommendations on how to deal with the situation. It gave its report in December 2010.^[18] The agitations continued for nearly 5 years, with the Telangana side harping on the marginalisation of food culture, language, and unequal economic development and the Samaikyandhra movement focusing on the shared culture, language, customs, and historical unity of Telugu-speaking regions.^[19] The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act bill was passed by the parliament of India for the formation of the Telangana state, comprising ten districts, despite opposition by the state legislature.^[20] The bill included the provision to retain Hyderabad as the capital for up to ten years and the provision to ensure access to educational institutions for the same period.^[21] The bill received the assent of the president and was published in the gazette on 1 March 2014.^[22] The new state of Telangana came into existence on 2 June 2014 after approval from the president of India, with the residual state continuing as Andhra Pradesh.^[23] The present form of Andhra Pradesh is the same as that of Andhra State, except for Bhadrachalam town, which continues in Telangana.^[24] A number of petitions questioning the validity of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act have been pending before the Supreme Court constitutional bench since April 2014.^[25]

In the final elections held in the unified state in 2014, the TDP got a mandate in its favour, defeating its nearest rival, the YSR Congress Party, a breakaway faction of the Congress founded by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief of the TDP, became the chief minister on 8 June 2014.^[26] In 2017, the government of Andhra Pradesh began operating from its new greenfield capital, Amaravati, for which 33,000 acres were acquired from farmers through an innovative land pooling scheme.^[27][28] Interstate issues with Telangana relating to the division of assets of public sector institutions and organisations of the united state and the division of river waters are not yet resolved.^[29][30]

Data from Andhra Pradesh State Portal.^[32]

• Main article List of governors of Andhra Pradesh

#	Name	Portrait	From	To	Term length
1	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi		1 November 1956	1 August 1957	1,005 days
2	Bhim Sen Sachar		1 August 1957	8 September 1962	1,865 days
3	Satyawant Mallannah Shrinagesh		8 September 1962	4 May 1964	605 days
4	Pattom A. Thanu Pillai		4 May 1964	11 April 1968	1,439 days
5	Khandubhai Kasanji Desai	–	11 April 1968	25 January 1975	2,481 days
6	S. Obul Reddy	–	25 January 1975	10 January 1976	351 days
7	Mohanlal Sukhadia		10 January 1976	16 June 1976	159 days
8	Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare		16 June 1976	17 February 1977	247 days
9	B. J. Divan	–	17 February 1977	5 May 1977	78 days
10	Sharda Mukherjee		5 May 1977	15 August 1978	468 days
11	K. C. Abraham	–	15 August 1978	15 August 1983	1,827 days
12	Thakur Ram Lal		15 August 1983	29 August 1984	381 days
13	Shankar Dayal Sharma		29 August 1984	26 November 1985	455 days
14	Kumud Ben Joshi		26 November 1985	7 February 1990	1,535 days
15	Krishan Kant		7 February 1990	22 August 1997	2,754 days
16	Gopala Ramanujam	–	22 August 1997	24 November 1997	95 days
17	C. Rangarajan		24 November 1997	3 January 2003	1,867 days
18	Surjit Singh Barnala		3 January 2003	4 November 2004	672 days
19	Sushilkumar Shinde		4 November 2004	29 January 2006	452 days
20	Rameshwar Thakur		29 January 2006	22 August 2007	571 days
21	N. D. Tiwari		22 August 2007	27 December 2009	859 days
22	E. S. L. Narasimhan		28 December 2009[33]	1 June 2014	1,617 days

On 1 November 1956, Hyderabad State ceased to exist; its Gulbarga and Aurangabad divisions were merged into Mysore State and Bombay State respectively. Its remaining Telugu-speaking portion, Telangana, was merged with Andhra State to form the new state of United Andhra Pradesh.

N. Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party was the longest served chief minister of United Andhra Pradesh. Kiran Kumar Reddy of the Indian National Congress was the last chief minister of United Andhra Pradesh.

#	Portrait		Chief Minister (Lifespan) Constituency	Term of office			Election (Term)	Party	Government	Appointed by (Governor)
				Term start	Term end	Duration
1			Neelam Sanjiva Reddy నీలం సంజీవ రెడ్డి (1913–1996) MLA for Srikalahasti	1 November 1956	11 January 1960	3 years, 71 days	1955 (1st)	Indian National Congress భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము	Neelam I	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
							1957 (2nd)		Neelam II
2			Damodaram Sanjivayya దామోదరం సంజీవయ్య (1921–1972) MLA for Kurnool	11 January 1960	12 March 1962	2 years, 60 days			Sanjivayya	Bhim Sen Sachar
(1)			Neelam Sanjiva Reddy నీలం సంజీవ రెడ్డి (1913–1996) MLA for Dhone	12 March 1962	21 February 1964	1 year, 346 days	1962 (3rd)		Neelam III
3			Kasu Brahmananda Reddy కాసు బ్రహ్మానంద రెడ్డి (1909–1994) MLA for Narasaraopet	21 February 1964	30 September 1971	7 years, 221 days			Kasu I	Satyawant Mallannah Shrinagesh
							1967 (4th)		Kasu II	Pattom A. Thanu Pillai
4			Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao పాములపర్తి వెంకట నరసింహారావు (1921–2004) MLA for Manthani	30 September 1971	10 January 1973	1 year, 102 days	1972 (5th)	Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము (ఇందిరమ్మ)	Narasimha	Khandubhai Kasanji Desai
President's rule అధ్యక్ష పాలన imposed during the period (11 January 1973 – 10 December 1973)[a]
5			Jalagam Vengala Rao జలగం వెంగళరావు (1921–1999) MLA for Vemsoor	10 December 1973	6 March 1978	4 years, 86 days	1972 (5th)	Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము (ఇందిరమ్మ)	Jalagam	Khandubhai Kasanji Desai
6			Marri Chenna Reddy మర్రి చెన్నా రెడ్డి (1919–1996) MLA for Medchal	6 March 1978	11 October 1980	2 years, 219 days	1978 (6th)	Indian National Congress (Indira) భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము (ఇందిరమ్మ)	Marri I	Sharda Mukherjee
7			Tanguturi Anjaiah టంగుటూరి అంజయ్య (1919–1986) MLC	11 October 1980	24 February 1982	1 year, 136 days			Anjaiah	K. C. Abraham
8			Bhavanam Venkata Ramireddy భవనం వెంకట రామిరెడ్డి (1931–2002) MLC	24 February 1982	20 September 1982	208 days			Bhavanam
9			Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy కోట్ల విజయ భాస్కర రెడ్డి (1920–2001) MLA for Kurnool	20 September 1982	9 January 1983	111 days			Kotla I
10			Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao నందమూరి తారక రామారావు (1923–1996) MLA for Tirupati	9 January 1983	16 August 1984	1 year, 220 days	1983 (7th)	Telugu Desam Party తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము	Rao I
11			Nadendla Bhaskara Rao నాదెండ్ల భాస్కరరావు (born 1935) MLA for Vemuru	16 August 1984	16 September 1984	31 days		Telugu Desam Party (Rebel) తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము (తిరుగుబాటుదారు)	Nadendla	Thakur Ram Lal
(10)			Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao నందమూరి తారక రామారావు (1923–1996) MLA for Tirupati 1984–1985 MLA for Hindupuram 1985–1989	16 September 1984	9 March 1985	174 days		Telugu Desam Party తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము	Rao I	Shankar Dayal Sharma
				9 March 1985	3 December 1989	4 years, 269 days	1985 (8th)		Rao II
(6)			Marri Chenna Reddy మర్రి చెన్నా రెడ్డి (1919–1996) MLA for Sanathnagar	3 December 1989	17 December 1990	1 year, 14 days	1989 (9th)	Indian National Congress (Indira) భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము (ఇందిరమ్మ)	Marri II	Kumudben Joshi
12			Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy నేదురుమల్లి జనార్దన రెడ్డి (1935–2014) MLA for Venkatagiri	17 December 1990	9 October 1992	1 year, 297 days			Janardhana	Krishan Kant
(9)			Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy కోట్ల విజయ భాస్కర రెడ్డి (1920–2001) MLA for Panyam	9 October 1992	12 December 1994	2 years, 64 days			Kotla II
(10)			Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao నందమూరి తారక రామారావు (1923–1996) MLA for Hindupuram	12 December 1994	1 September 1995	263 days	1994 (10th)	Telugu Desam Party తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము	Rao III
13			Nara Chandrababu Naidu నారా చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు (born 1950) MLA for Kuppam	1 September 1995	11 October 1999	4 years, 40 days			Naidu I
				11 October 1999	14 May 2004	4 years, 216 days	1999 (11th)		Naidu II	C. Rangarajan
14			Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy ఏడుగురి సందింటి రాజశేఖర రెడ్డి' (1949–2009) MLA for Pulivendla	14 May 2004	20 May 2009	5 years, 6 days	2004 (12th)	Indian National Congress భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము	Reddy I	Surjit Singh Barnala
				20 May 2009	2 September 2009	105 days	2009 (13th)		Reddy II	N. D. Tiwari
15			Konijeti Rosaiah కొణిజేటి రోశయ్య (1933–2021) MLC	3 September 2009	25 November 2010	1 year, 83 days			Rosaiah
16			Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy నల్లారి కిరణ్ కుమార్ రెడ్డి (born 1959) MLA for Pileru	25 November 2010	1 March 2014	3 years, 96 days			Kiran	E. S. L. Narasimhan
President's rule అధ్యక్ష పాలన imposed during the period (1 March 2014 – 1 June 2014)[a][b]

The list of deputy chief ministers in the Indian former state of United Andhra Pradesh include:

Keys:  INC

Sr. No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Political party		Chief Minister
1		Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy కొండా వెంకట రంగారెడ్డి	1959	1962		Indian National Congress భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy నీలం సంజీవ రెడ్డి
2		Joginapally Venkat Narsing Rao జోగినపల్లి వెంకట్ నర్సింగ్ రావు	1967	1972			Kasu Brahmananda Reddy కాసు బ్రహ్మానంద రెడ్డి
3		Chowti Jagannatha Rao చౌటి జగన్నాథరావు	24 February 1982	20 September 1982			Bhavanam Venkatarami Reddy భవనం వెంకటరామి రెడ్డి
4		Koneru Ranga Rao కోనేరు రంగారావు	9 October 1992	12 December 1994			Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy కోట్ల విజయ భాస్కర రెడ్డి
5		Damodar Raja Narasimha దామోదర రాజ నరసింహ	10 June 2011[35]	1 February 2014[36]			Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy నల్లారి కిరణ్ కుమార్ రెడ్డి

In fact N. Chandrababu Naidu is the longest-serving leader of the opposition. He served as leader of opposition in United Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for a period of 2004 – 2014 in Andhra which includes current day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states N. Chandrababu Naidu is the last leader of opposition of United Andhra Pradesh before its bifurcation.

№	Name (Constituency)	Portrait	Term		Party		Assembly (Election)
1	Puchalapalli Sundarayya పుచ్చలపల్లి సుందరయ్య (Gannavaram)		1957	1962		Communist Party of India భారత కమ్యూనిస్టు పక్షము	Second Assembly (1957 election)
2	Tarimela Nagi Reddy తరిమెల నాగి రెడ్డి (Putturu)		1962	1967			Third Assembly (1962 election)
3	Gouthu Latchanna గౌతు లచ్చన్న (Sompeta)		1967	1972		Swatantra Party స్వాతంత్ర పక్షము	Fourth Assembly (1967 election)
-	Vacant	Vacant	1972	1978	-		Fifth Assembly (1972 election)
(3)	Gouthu Latchanna గౌతు లచ్చన్న (Sompeta)		1978	1983		Janata Party జనతా పక్షము	Sixth Assembly (1978 election)
4	Mogaligundla Baga Reddy మొగలిగుండ్ల బాగా రెడ్డి (Zahirabadu)		1983	1984		Indian National Congress భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము	Seventh Assembly (1983 election)
			1985	1989			Eighth Assembly (1985 election)
5	Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao నందమూరి తారక రామారావు (Hindupuram)		1989	1994		Telugu Desam Party తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము	Ninth Assembly (1989 election)
-	Vacant	Vacant	1994	1999	-		Tenth Assembly (1994 election)
6	Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy ఏడుగురి సందింటి రాజశేఖర రెడ్డి (Pulivendula)		11 October 1999	13 May 2004		Indian National Congress భారత జాతీయ కాంగ్రెస్సు పక్షము	Eleventh Assembly (1999 election)
7	Nara Chandrababu Naidu నారా చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు (Kuppam)		14 May 2004	May 2009		Telugu Desam Party తెలుగుదేశం పక్షము	Twelfth Assembly (2004 election)
			May 2009	June 2014			Thirteenth Assembly (2009 election)

After several years of protest and agitation, the central government, under the United Progressive Alliance, decided to bifurcate the existing Andhra Pradesh state and on 2 June 2014, the Union Cabinet unilaterally cleared the bill for the creation of Telangana. Lasting for almost 5 decades, it was one of the longest movements in South India.[1] On 18 February 2014, the Lok Sabha passed the bill with a voice vote. Subsequently, the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha two days later, on 20 February.[2] As per the bill, Hyderabad would be the capital of Telangana, while the city would also remain the capital of the residual state of Andhra Pradesh for no more than ten years. Hyderabad was the de jure joint capital. On 2 June 2014, Telangana was created with Hyderabad as its capital

The Telangana movement refers to a movement for the creation of a state, Telangana, from the pre-existing state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The new state corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.