The titan who dominated AP political scene for 50 years

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 27. Mr. Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy was one of the tallest personalities who dominated the political scene of Andhra Pradesh for over five decades.

Born on August 16, 1920 at Laddagiri village in Kurnool district, Mr.Reddy had his early education in Municipal High School and Coles High School at Kurnool. After graduating from Besant Theosophical College, Madanapalle, he took a law degree in 1947 and practised for sometime in Madras. He was a keen sportsman, having served as captain of the hockey and football teams in college.

After formation of Andhra State, he plunged into active politics and was elected to the Andhra State Assembly in 1955 as a general candidate of the dual-member Yemmiganur constituency in Kurnool district. In the same election, Damodaram Sanjeevaiah was elected a reserved candidate from the same constituency.

He was elected the first chairman of the Kurnool Zilla Parishad in 1959 when Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the Chief Minister. He made a significant contribution to the development of the district which helped him retain the chairmanship for the second term in the elections in 1964.

Mr. Vijayabhaskara Reddy became a Minister for the first time in the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Cabinet in 1967 though he was neither a member of the Assembly nor the Council. He was elected to the Legislative Council from the local bodies constituency and served as Finance Minister till 1971.

He moved to national politics and got elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kurnool constituency six times in 1977, 1980, 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998. He lost only twice--in 1984 to Mr.E.Ayyapu Reddy (then representing the TDP) and in 1999 to Mr.K. E. Krishnamurthy again of TDP. Similarly, he had a string of electoral successes in the contest for the Assembly, having been elected twice from Yemmiganur and one time each from Panyam and Dhone.

Mr. Reddy served in the Ministries headed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao as Cabinet Minister.

Mr.Reddy faced the unenviable challenge of rescuing a crisis- ridden Congress-I when he took over as the Chief Minister of the State for the first time in September, 1982. Indira Gandhi believed that his rich experience would see the Congress-I through a crucial Assembly election in 1983. But, it was too late by then and a fledgling TDP under the leadership of the charismatic N.T.Rama Rao rode to power ending an unbroken Congress rule in the State since Independence. Mr. Reddy was elected to the Assembly from Yemmiganur but resigned the seat to retain the Lok Sabha membership.

Mr. Vijayabhaskara Reddy took over as the Chief Minister of the State for the second time on October 9, 1992, and devoted attention to development. Memoranda of Understanding were signed for three fast track power projects in the private sector--Visakhapatnam, Jegurupadu and Krishnapatnam--and work on Srisailam Right Bank Canal Project, Telugu Ganga and Sriramsagar Project was speeded. A big challenge his Government faced was the anti-arrack movement led by women. Bowing to the wishes of women, a ban on arrack was imposed.

But he could not thwart the comeback of the TDP in 1994. He was elected to the Assembly from Dhone but resigned the seat immediately.

Mr. Reddy has the distinction of getting elected to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest policy making body, twice, at the Tirupati AICC session in 1992 and the Kolkata session in 1997. He also served as Chairman of the AICC Disciplinary Action Committee.

A remarkable characterstic of Mr.Reddy was the way he remembered his acquaintances spanning three generations by name and treated them affectionately. He also earned a name for probity in public life.

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