Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born 20 April 1950) is an Indian politician who is the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He first held the office from 1995 to 2004 in the undivided state, when he was known as the “CEO Chief Minister” for bringing technology companies to Hyderabad. He led the new, smaller Andhra Pradesh from 2014 to 2019 and returned to power in June 2024, when his party also became a key partner in the central government.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Nara Chandrababu Naidu |
| Born | 20 April 1950, Naravaripalle, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Age | 76 |
| Party | Telugu Desam Party |
| Office | Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1995–2004, 2014–2019, 2024–present) |
| Education | Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (M.A. Economics) |
| Spouse | Nara Bhuvaneswari (m. 1981) |
| Children | 1 (Nara Lokesh) |
Early Life
Naidu was born into a farming family in Naravaripalle village near Tirupati. He took a master’s degree in economics at Sri Venkateswara University, where he was a student leader, and gave up his doctoral studies for politics.
Political Career
He was elected to the assembly as a Congress candidate in 1978, aged 28, and became a minister two years later. In 1981 he married Bhuvaneswari, a daughter of the film star N. T. Rama Rao (NTR), who founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982. Naidu lost his seat to the TDP in 1983 and then joined it, becoming its general secretary and chief organiser.
In August 1995 Naidu led a revolt of TDP legislators against NTR, objecting to the influence of NTR’s second wife, Lakshmi Parvathi, and replaced his father-in-law as Chief Minister. He set out a plan called Vision 2020, built HITEC City and persuaded Microsoft and other firms to open in Hyderabad, and brought the Indian School of Business to the city. Nationally, he was convener of the United Front in 1996 and his party supported Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government from outside. He survived a landmine attack by Maoists near Tirupati in October 2003. His party lost the 2004 election, partly because of distress among farmers.
After Telangana was separated in 2014, Naidu won the election in the remaining Andhra Pradesh and began building a new capital, Amaravati. He left the BJP-led alliance in 2018 over the denial of special status to the state and was heavily defeated in 2019 by Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In September 2023 he was arrested in a case concerning a state skill-development scheme and spent about 50 days in jail before getting bail; he denied wrongdoing. In the 2024 elections the TDP, in alliance with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, won 164 of 175 assembly seats. He was sworn in as Chief Minister on 12 June 2024 and revived the Amaravati project.
Personal Life
His wife, Bhuvaneswari, runs the family’s dairy company, Heritage Foods. Their son, Nara Lokesh, is a minister in the state government. The actor Jr NTR is his wife’s nephew.
Offices Held
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Chandrababu Naidu born?
Chandrababu Naidu was born on 20 April 1950 in Naravaripalle, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, India and is 76 years old.
Featured image: N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, 25 August 2014. Photo by Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
