Information about Political Parties in Andhra Pradesh

This page carries information about the political parties in Andhra Pradesh.

There are two major political parties in Andhra Pradesh, namely, Congress and Telugu Desam. Telangana Rashtra Samithi which was formed to promote the Telangana cause has also gained popularity with previous elections. Nava Telangana party, and Praja Rajyam were formed recently. Other parties include, Lok Satta, Bharatiya Janata Party, CPI, and CPI(M).

Congress Party

Since the formation of the separate state of Andhra Pradesh in 1953, Congress party enjoyed majority in the house and administered the government for 30 years. Under the leadership of eminent leaders such as Potti Sriramulu consistent development and a sustained growth was recorded.

They lost ground in 1983 when N. T. Rama Rao started the Telugu Desam Party, overthrew the Congress, and put an end to their monopoly. Congress had to be content with staying in the Opposition.

In 2004, they got back to power under the leadership of Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Learning from the mistakes made by the former chief minister, Chandra Babu Naidu (TDP), the Congress came back with a strong pro-poor and pro-farmer agenda.

Telugu Desam Party

Telugu Desam Party was founded by the renowned Telugu Film Star N. T. Rama Rao on March 29, 1982. When it first came to power, it gave a much needed break from the monopoly of Congress. They gained popularity through pro-poor schemes and development programs that boosted the morale of the Telugu language and the Telugu people’s self respect. In 1995, his son-in-law and the then Finance Minister Nara Chandra Babu Naidu overthrew N. T. Rama Rao with the support of other party loyalists and became the Chief Minister. Naidu continues to be the supremo of the Party and heads the house as the Opposition leader in the present Assembly.

Lok Satta Party

Lok Satta Party was launched in Andhra Pradesh on Oct 2, 2006. It is led by Administrator-turned-politician Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan. It aims to free the country from “money and muscle power politics” and bring in a citizen centered Political Culture.

It is emerging as a major mainstream political party in AP, with more than 350,000 members and chapters in all the districts. Through their Citizen Service Centers,Surajya Movement, and People’s Commission Against Corruption, they conduct several activities to identify key Governance issues, and to weed out political corruption. As this party is driven basically by youth, they even seem to be having a good website. Check it out: http://www.loksatta.org/

Telangana Rashtra Samiti

Telangana Rashtra Samiti was founded by K. Chandrasekhar Rao in 2001 in Siddipet. KCR was in TDP earlier. The party had the main agenda of forming a separate state for the Telangana region.

In 2004 Elections he formed an alliance with the Congress party. TRS won 26 Assembly and 5 Lok Sabha seats and continued to support Congress both at the state and the Center till They withdrew support from the Center in September 2006 and resigned from Assembly enmasse in April 2008 stating that the Congress failed to deliver the demand for a separate state of Telangana.

In the subsequent by-elections however, the party lost heavily to Congress and TDP as the Telangana people voted them out believing they have failed to deliver a separate state for them. Though KCR tried to resign from the party presidentship, the party continues to hold him as their leader as they feel he can be the instrument of delivering a separate state.

Praja Rajyam Party

Praja Rajyam party was founded by actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi on August 26, 2008. Chiranjeevi felt the need to eradicate corruption in the society and enable People’s Rule through honest and efficient Governance, through transparency and through sincerity. The party was functioning initially purely through the family emembers of Chiranjeevi, including Allu Aravind, Naga Babu, Pawan Kalyan. It slowly diversified to include experienced eminent leaders from different walks of life, experienced politicians who have a clean political record, and of course scores of Chiru fans and enthusiasts. The party does not have a clear agenda yet. However, through road shows and through awareness camps run through fans, Chiranjeevi hopes to first understand the problems faced by the common man and then come up with a practical, tangible, and workable agenda that will suit the interests of all.

Exactly like the TDP during its inception by N. T. Rama Rao in yesteryears, even Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam party is drawing crowds to the tune of lakhs and crores. At this stage it will be difficult to tell whether these are party enthusiasts, followers of just fans of Chiru.

Nava Telangana Praja Party (NTPP)

Senior TDP leader T. Devendar Goud branched out from the party to form his own party called the Nava Telangana Praja Party. The party was founded on 11th July 2008. Devendar Goud and his party are of the opinion that the Telangana region has been subject to neglect repeatedly from the time of the formation of separate state for Andhra Pradesh. The people of Telangana lack basic amenities and resources even after 60 years of independent India despite the fact that this region is sorrounded by rich natural resources.

Formation of a separate state for Telangana region is the sole and principal agenda of this party. They believe that no other solution is going to help Telangana people. One of the party’s moves in the near future is going to be to declare this region as a separate state on their own accord. This sounds like the American act of Declaration of Independence, but thats how they are going to act if their dream is not realized soon. Of course, their party members are going to contest from all the Assembly Constituencies in the Telangana region in the forthcoming general elections of Andhra Pradesh.