Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party’s co-founder Nadendla Bhaskar Rao died of prolonged illness in Hyderabad on Wednesday, family members said. He was 90.
Rao founded the TDP along with Telugu actor N T Rama Rao in 1982 and served as the chief minister of erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh for one month in 1984.
Rao had been undergoing treatment for respiratory issues at a private hospital in Hyderabad for the last one month. “He breathed his last at around 12 noon,” a family member told media persons.
He is survived by his son Nadendla Manohar, who is a Jana Sena Party (JSP) MLA from Tenali and presently civil supplies minister in the N Chandrababu Naidu cabinet in Andhra Pradesh.
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Born on June 23, 1935, Bhaskara Rao had entered electoral politics in 1978 by winning the Vijayawada (East) assembly seat on a Congress ticket and served as a minister in the then Marri Channa Reddy cabinet.
He joined hands with N T Rama Rao (NTR) to launch the TDP in March 1982. After the TDP came to power in January 1983, Bhaskar Rao joined the NTR cabinet as finance minister.
{{/usCountry}}He joined hands with N T Rama Rao (NTR) to launch the TDP in March 1982. After the TDP came to power in January 1983, Bhaskar Rao joined the NTR cabinet as finance minister.
{{/usCountry}}In 1984, Rao formed his own government with support of MLAs loyal to his faction. He then became the chief minister for one month from 16 August to 16 September.
Bhaskar Rao later joined the Congress. He got elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 from Khammam, but lost the seat in 1999.
On July 6, 2019, Bhaskar Rao joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).