10 lesser known facts about Chandrababu Naidu who parted ways with NDA

Nara Chandrababu Naidu has served as the longest Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004. He also has other distinctions like being the youngest MLA in the state and the youngest minister at the age of 28.

TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called an emergency press briefing on Wednesday night and briefed the media about his party's decision to quit NDA. Photo: Twitter (File)

NEW DELHI: N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party has pulled out the ruling NDA at the Centre in protest against its refusal to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called an emergency press briefing on Wednesday night and briefed the media about his party's decision. Naidu said the TDP took the painful decision in the interest of the state as it was left with no other option. Here's are 10 lesser known facts about N Chandrababu Naidu

• Nara Chandrababu Naidu was born on 20th April 1950 at Naravari Palle in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh into a middle-class agricultural family near the temple-town of Tirupati.
• Chandrababu Naidu has served as the longest Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 2004. He served as the chief minister of (united) Andhra Pradesh for eight years, eight months and 13 days (from September 1, 1995 to May 13, 2004) the longest tenure for any CM of AP and he was elected as the first CM of (bifurcated) AP.
• Chandrababu also has other distinctions like being the youngest MLA in the state and the youngest minister at the age of 28 when he was first inducted as minister for cinematography in the then Cabinet of T Anjaiah in 1978. A seven-time MLA, he also holds the record as the longest-serving Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2014.
• Chandrababu started off as a students’ union leader in Sri Venkateswara University while pursuing his Masters in Economics. He joined the Youth Congress in 1975 and was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1978 from his native Chandragiri constituency. Chandrababu had to drop his PhD programme in economics after he became a minister.
• While serving as minister, Chandrababu caught the Telugu silver screen legend N T Rama Rao’s eye and a relationship was thus built when NTR gave his second daughter Bhuvaneswari in marriage to the former in 1980.
• In 1994, he became minister for finance and revenue in NTR’s Cabinet but in August 1995 led an internal party coup to dislodge his father-in-law from the Chief Minister’s chair and took over the reins with the support of majority of MLAs. Chandrababu simultaneously became president of the TDP and took full control of the party after NTR’s demise in January 1996, but had to carry the tag of a “backstabber” for many years thereafter.
• As Chief Minister, Chandrababu ushered in reforms, both in economics and governance, and launched pioneering initiatives like e-governance, e-Seva (electronic delivery of government services) and Citizens Charter.
• He came out with a Vision-2020 policy document for the all-round development of the state and implemented it with passion. It, however, produced mixed results even as Chandrababu attracted flak for neglecting the critical rural development.
• From a city famous for its pearls and biryani, Chandrababu turned Hyderabad into a major hub of Information Technology, attracting giants like Microsoft, Wipro, Google and several others to set up shop in the city.
• The state bifurcation came as a blessing in disguise for Chandrababu as people saw hope only in him as a tall and "experienced" leader who could recreate the magic and build the new state of AP into a well-developed province.

(With inputs from PTI)