Early life
Rajasekhara Reddy was born in [[Pulivendula],], Andhra Pradesh to Y S Raja and Jayamma Reddy. He graduated with a degree in medicine from [
Political career
From 1980-1983 he was a minister holding important portfolios related to Rural Development, Medical Health and Education. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa constituency four times and was elected to the Andhra Pradesh state Assembly six times from Pulivendula constituency. Reddy was the leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly for five years. As an MLA he was influential in obtaining water from the
As APCC President
He was President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) twice: 1983–1985 and 1998–2000. As the president of APCC, Reddy rendered yeomen services to the party in regaining the faith and trust of the masses. From 1999 to 2004 he was the Leader of Opposition in the eleventh state assembly.
Paadayaatra
During mid-summer in 2003, he led an unprecedented 1400 km long paadayaatra (foot pilgrimage), covering all backward areas in the state to understand the ground realities of living conditions of the people there. As a novice in the legislature, Reddy rallied all the Congress MLAs from the Rayalaseema region and led an indefinite hunger strike demanding solution to the water crisis. He also led a paadayaatra from Lepakshi to Pothireddipadu in
As Chief Minister
Reddy was elected as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh by the Legislature party of the Indian National Congress after they later won 185 seats of the Legislative Assembly in the May 2004 elections. He has initiated a variety of programs that influence the economy of AP including free power supply for farmers, Jalayagnam - a large scale program to construct more than 70 pending irrigation projects in the state to improve irrigation facilities to the farmers, and an increase in the minimum support price for rice. Prominent among other programs include Arogya Shree - a Health Insurance scheme for rural masses where the government pays the entire price of any surgery and does not require people to pay any premium, Pavala Vaddi - a program that provides loans to people at 3% per year so as to encourage them to take up small scale businesses and entrepreneurship primarily targeted at rural woman, Indiramma illu - a program for construction of houses for the rural masses by charging a small amount and the government the remaining amount, an Rs 2/Kg rice scheme, reimbursement of full college fees for backward sections, reservations for minorities, and a huge loan waiver program for the farmers.
Election 2009
Reddy's major campaign slogan for the 2009 election was "Development and the credibility ".
In the elections, Reddy's party (INC) secured the required majority in the assembly (156 seats) and also won 33 seats in parliament.
Reddy was sworn in as the chief minister for the term of 2009–2014 on 20 May 2009. The ceremony was held in
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