Nandamauri Taraka Rama Rao, The Indian motion-picture actor and director, politician and government officer, who created the (TDP)Telugu Desam Party and served for three terms (1983–84; 1984–89 and 1994–95), Nandamauri Taraka Rama Rao, by name NTR, (born May 28th, 1923, Nimmakuru, close to Machilipatnam, India – died January 18, 1996, and Hyderabad) as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh state in Southeast India. As an actor, he was a celebrity among the Telugu citizens in the country and took attention to a promising political career.
Personal Life:
The one who was popularly identified as NTR was born to a poor farming family in a tiny village near the coastal city of Machilipatnam (now in Andhra Pradesh). He graduated from Andhra Christian College in nearby Guntur with a bachelor's degree. After qualifying for the civil service under British India's Madras presidency he took up his place as a sub-registrar at Mangalagiri, Guntur (northeast). Nevertheless, he soon quit the work to seek a acting career.
NTR's Mana Desam, was released in 1949,which was first film and proceeded to make movies in around 300 movies until 1982. He rapidly demonstrated a massive mainstream appeal and eventually achieved the status of a cult leader.
He often portrayed a Hindu god, especially Krishna in his movies and only his high image was strengthened by his adoption of white or saffron robes of his costumes as his daily dress.
Career:
In March 1982, he established the TDP with the stated aim of safeguarding the interests of the Telugu speaking people of India. In consolidating votes against the then ruling Indian National Congress (Congress Party), the TDP was extremely successful. Riding on NTR 's popularity, candidates from the TDP (as independents, since the party remained unregistered) gained a huge majority of seats in the 1983 Andhra Pradesh parliamentary election.
The party then formed a government and NTR became the first non-Congress leader since the state was founded in 1956. However, his first term lasted for less than two years. In August 1984 when NTR recovered from heart surgery, the National Government (by the Andhra Pradesh governor) controlled by Congress removed him from offices and appointed Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, its Chief Minister of Finance (and Congressman). After his return in September, NTR mobilized support among TDP Assembly members, resumed his position as chief minister, and started his second term.
Following a powerful TDP participation in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls, the NTR agreed to try a fresh mainstream mandate in Andhra Pradesh by conducting assembly elections in 1985. The TDP won a total of 202 seats of 294, while NTR remained chief minister.
NTR's first two governments were marked by numerous populist initiatives, including clothing and food and housing subsidies for the under-poverty line. He initiated the schoolchildren's Midday Meal Program and banned the sale of alcohol in the state.
Although these steps were planned to extend the common TDP base, they proved counterproductive to the state economy by rising expenditures and reducing tax revenues, respectively.
This apparent mismanagement was one of the factors that led to the loss of power of the party during the 1989 state elections. The TDP only won 74 seats, paved the way for a government led by Congress. The NTR headed the resistance and sought to strengthen the party's political support. The TDP won 216 seats at the elections in 1994, and the NTR began its 3rd term as Chief Minister.
In 1942 NTR married Basavatarakam Nandamuri, but in 1985 she died. He married Lakshmi Parvathi in 1993. However, his actions caused disagreement in the TDP, especially from Nara Chandrababu Naidu, NTR's son-in-law, and one of the top members of the party.
Chandrababu Naidu put himself over the next few months to oust NTR from the party leadership he effectively obtained. Chandrababu Naidu took over both as TDP chief and as head of state in August 1995. The following year, NTR died of a heart attack.
