Former AP Chief Minister Janardhana Reddy passes away

Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy passed away in the early hours on Friday after brief illness. He was 80 and is survived by wife and four sons.

The end came around 5.50 am in the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) hospital in Hyderabad, where he was admitted for treatment of his ailments. His body was shifted to his residence in Somajiguda area and the last rites will be performed at his native village in Wakadu of Nellore district on Saturday.

Late Janardhan Reddy was the Chief Minister of AP between 1990 and 1992. Before that he was a minister in the Cabinets of Jalagam Vengal Rao, T. Anjaiah, B. Venkatram, K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy and Marri Channa Reddy. Entered politics in 1972, he went on to become close to the family members of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after he was made a Rajya Sabha member.

He was elected to the AP Legislative Council for 1978-84 period and was a minister under different Chief Ministers during 1978-83. He went on to become the Chief Minister in 1990 after Marri Channa Reddy had quit following the large-scale communal clashes in Hyderabad.

Late Janardhan Reddy was the Chief Minister for about two years but he was also forced by circumstances arising out of alleged irregularities in sanction of new engineering colleges in the private sector to quit the office. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Bapatla, Narasaraopeta and Visakhapatnam three times in 1998, 1999 and 2004. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2009 and continues to be a member of the Upper House till death.

Born on Feb 20, 1935 at Wakadu, Janardhan Reddy was a school teacher before taking a plunge into politics. He was made the AP Congress Committee president in 1988 and was replaced by Marri Channa Reddy in 1989, who led the Congress party to regain power in AP after N.T. Rama Rao's Telugu Desam Party held sway from 1983 to 89.

He holds the distinctive record of representing the Upper and Lower Houses in AP and at the Centre as he was also elected to the State Assembly from Venkatagiri in 1989. His wife N. Rajyalakshmi also worked as a minister in the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy cabinet from 2004 to 2009. Late Janardhan Reddy >escaped a bid on his life by naxalites in 2007 .