Chandrababu Naidu — Will 2014 mark the return of Andhra`s `tech-tonic` leader?

Himanshu Kapoor

Chandrababu Naidu, who was the longest serving chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, comes from a modest background. Being the chief minister of the state from 1994 to 2004, his style of functioning was more of a CEO than of a traditional politician. With a firm conviction that technology should be used in the service of the common man, Naidu laid great emphasis on the use of modern information technology. Thus, he was instrumental in making Hyderabad one of the IT hubs in India. Born on April 20, 1950, in Naravari Palle village of Chittoor district, Naidu did his schooling in Chandragiri and college education at Sri Venkateswara Arts College in Tirupati. Naidu completed his BA degree in 1972 before enrolling in an MA program in economics. In 1974, he began work towards a PhD under DL Narayana (Andhra Pradesh Finance Commission chairman), researching the economic ideas of NG Ranga. However, he did not complete his PhD, instead became involved in politics. Naidu entered politics as a youth leader from Chandragiri. During the Emergency he was appointed Pulicherla Youth Congress president, becoming close to Sanjay Gandhi. In 1978, he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Chndragiri constituency in Chitoor on an Indian National Congress ticket and became Minister of Technical Education and Cinematography in T. Anjaiah`s cabinet, at age 28 the state`s youngest assembly member and minister. Naidu`s father-in-law Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao then in 1982 floated a regional political party - Telugu Desam Party – just nine months before the General Elections that year which went on to sweep the polls handing the Congress its first ever defeat in the state since independence. It was after this defeat, Naidu joined the TDP thinking his future would be brighter in his father-in-law`s party. After entering into the folds of TDP, Naidu`s rise in the party began when he helped his father-in-law regain power after Nadendla Bhaskara Rao staged a coup against NTR in August 1984. NTR appointed Naidu general secretary of the party and he began playing an important role in the TDP after Rao`s coup attempt. The mantle of leadership fell on Naidu`s shoulders when he succeeded NTR and was sworn in as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1995. After NTR`s death, Naidu led the TDP to victory in the following assembly election. In 2004 elections, the Telugu Desam Party, though, failed to retain power after two successive wins, winning 47 of 294 seats in the state assembly and five of 42 in the Lok Sabha. During his tenure as the CM of the state, Naidu advocated short-term sacrifice to turn Andhra Pradesh into an Asian tiger over the next 20 years by producing a `Vision 2020` statement, which included plans like low-cost education, healthcare, rural employment and replacement of small investors with large corporations. Naidu, in 2003, survived an assassination attempt escaping with a fractured left collarbone and hairline fractures of two right ribs. An egalitarian society has always been Nara Chandrababu Naidu`s goal. He found the key strategy for creating sufficient and appropriate human capital by providing elementary education on a massive scale and succeeded in churning out a lakh of engineers every year from Andhra Pradesh. To put it shortly, Chandrababu Naidu is a progressive politician who relentlessly strived for the multi-dimensional development of the citizens and upliftment of the poor.