Since 1953, there have been 19 chief ministers with the majority of them belonging to the Indian National Congress. In 1953, Tanguturi Prakasam of the Congress became the first chief minister of the Andhra State. In 1956, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy of the Congress became the first chief minister of Andhra Pradesh post the reorganisation of Indian states. The longest-serving chief minister was N. Chandrababu Naidu from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), who held the office for over thirteen years across multiple terms, while N. Bhaskara Rao from the TDP had the shortest tenure of 31 days. N. Chandrababu Naidu was also the first chief minister of the state post the bifurcation of Telangana in 2014. Later Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy went on to become the President of India, while P. V. Narasimha Rao, also from the Congress and previously the fourth chief minister of Andhra Pradesh went on to serve as the Prime Minister of India. Notably, N. T. Rama Rao from the TDP was the first non-Congress chief minister of the state. There have been three instances of President's rule in Andhra Pradesh, most recently in 2014.
The Andhra State, a precursor to the modern state of Andhra Pradesh, was established on 1 October 1953, following the Andhra movement. The formation of Andhra State was made possible by the Andhra State Act, which was passed in the Parliament of India in September 1953. This significant development was ignited by a determined fast led by Potti Sreeramulu, whose sacrifice ultimately catalysed the demand for a new linguistic state.
A total of two people have served as the chief minister during the period, of which both of them belonged to the Indian National Congress. Bezawada Gopala Reddy was the longest-serving chief minister of the region during this period. Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi was the only governor in office during this period.
Andhra Pradesh was officially created on 1 November 1956, through the enactment of the States Reorganisation Act in August 1956. This led to the dissolution of Hyderabad State, with its divisions becoming part of Mysore State and Bombay State. Concurrently, the integration of Telugu-speaking regions into Andhra State laid the foundation of a bicameral parliamentary system consisting of Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly chambers.[6][7]
Originally situated in Hyderabad, the capital later moved to Amaravati in 2017 following the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, which led to the formation of Telangana on 2 June 2014 and a reduction in the assembly constituencies from 294 to 175. Despite these significant boundary changes, the state continued to be recognised as Andhra Pradesh.[8][9]
Currently, there are a total of 175 assembly constituencies in the state.[10] The legislative council is the upper house with 58 members.[11]N. Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP is the longest-serving chief minister of the state, followed by Kasu Brahmananda Reddy of the Congress. The Congress and TDP are the longest-ruling political parties in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The territory under the presidency comprised only Madrasapattinam and its surrounding regions. But, after the Anglo-French wars and the consequent alliance between the English East India Company and the Nawab of Arcot, it was expanded to comprise the region from the Northern Circars to Cape Comorin. The governance structure also evolved from a modest secretariat with a single secretary for the Public Department in 1670 to six departments overseen by a chief secretary by 1920.
The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the Madras Legislative Council as an advisory body, without powers, through which the colonial administration obtained advice and assistance from able and willing Indian business leaders. But membership was selected (not elected) and was not representative of the masses.
With the enactment of the Government of India Act 1919, the first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections.[12] The term of the legislative council was three years. It had 132 members, of whom 34 were nominated by the governor and the rest were elected. Under the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature was set up with a legislative assembly consisting of 215 members and a legislative council having 56 members. The first legislative assembly under this act was constituted in July 1937. The legislative council was a permanent body, with a third of its members retiring every 3 years and having the power to decide on bills passed by the assembly.[13]
1 2 This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
1 2 3 President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When the President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[21]
↑ After 58 years, the state was bifurcated into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states on 2 June 2014 by Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. After state reorganisation, Andhra Pradesh Sasana sabha seats come down from 294 to 175 seats.
References
↑ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies to the specific case of Andhra Pradesh as well.
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