Biography of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy

Neelam Singeva Reddy

Born: 19 May 1913, Illuru, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh

Died: June 1, 1996, Bangalore, Karnataka

Function: Sixth President, India

Neelam Singeva Reddy, an Indian politician, is the sixth President of India. He held several high-ranking political posts before becoming President. He is remembered as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and a two-time Speaker in the Lok Sabha. Neelam  Sanjeeva Reddy was the youngest Indian President. He began his career in the Indian National Congress during independence.

He lost his first attempt at being a presidential candidate by a narrow margin against V.V. Giri. However, he was unanimously nominated the second time he was. He lost his first attempt to run for the Congress party as a candidate, but he was re-elected as President after the non-Congress parties offered him a chance.

The first step is life

Neelam Sanjeeva was born on 19 May 1913 to a Telugu-speaking family in Eluru, Madras Presidency. After completing his education at Adyar (Madras), the Theosophical High School, Adyar, he enrolled in the Government Arts College, Anantapur, which is affiliated with the University of Madras, for graduation. His life changed dramatically when Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Anantapur during the 1929 freedom struggle.

Biography of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy

Role in Independence Movement

He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s words and dropped out of school in 1931 to join the freedom movement. Later, he joined the Youth League and took part in student satyagraha. He was elected Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Provincial Congress Committee in 1938. This position was held by Neelam Sanjivareddy for ten more years.

He was also taken to prison during the Quit India Movement and was held there from 1940 to 1945. He was released in March 1942 by the government, but he was again arrested in August 1942 as part of the Quit India Movement. He was taken into custody and sent to Amaravati Jail. There he was T. Prakasam and S. Continued along with activists such as Satyamurthy and K. Kamaraj.

Politics

He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 and served as Secretary of the Congress Legislature Party. Later, he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly and served as Secretary of the Congress Legislature Party. He was Minister of Housing, Forests, and Prohibitions for Madras State from April 1949 to April 1951. 1951 saw him lose the election to the Madras Legislative Assembly.

1951: N. Yes.  became the President of Andhra the Pradesh Congress Committee after he defeated Ranga. T. Prakasam was the Chief Minister Neelam Singeva Reddy was the Deputy chief minister when Andhra Pradesh was created in 1953. Reddy was appointed Chief Minister when Telangana was merged into Andhra Pradesh. He held this post from 11 January 1960 to 1 November 1956. From March 1962 to February 1964, Reddy was again the Chief Minister for Andhra Pradesh. During his tenure, the Nagarjuna Sagar multi-purpose river valley projects and Srisailam multipurpose river valley projects were launched. The development of agriculture and other allied sectors was the focus of the Andhra Pradesh government during Reddy’s tenure.

Between 1960 and 1962, Neelam Sanjeeva was elected President of the Indian National Congress three more times. He was also a three-time Rajya Sabha member. He was the Minister of Steel and Mines of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s cabinet in 1966. He held the Ministries of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and To,urism of the Indira Gandhi government between January 1966 and March 1967.

Reddy was elected Speaker of Lok Sabha in March 1967 after he became an MP for Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh. To keep the position of Lok Sabha Speaker independent and impartial, he resigned from Congress. He called the Speaker the custodian and took a stand against Indira on multiple occasions. This led to him being forced to take the brunt in the Presidential election for two years.

Biography of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy

1969 Presidential Election

The Congress Party elected Reddy as its presidential candidate after the 1969 death of President Zakir Hussain. However, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi opposed him as he was a member in chief in the anti-Indira faction. Indira believed that Reddy would win the election. He can be removed as Prime Minister. Indira asked her MLAs and MPs to vote for their ‘conscience. Reddy was defeated by V.V. Giri, an independent candidate.

Reddy, who was then Speaker of the Lok Sabha, resigned to contest the presidential elections. He retired from active politics and moved to Anantapur to start farming.

Active politics and the presidency are back

Jayaprakash Narayan emerged from Reddy’s exile as a political leader with the slogan “total revolution” and won the Nandyala Lok Sabha on a Janata Party ticket during the 1977 elections. He was elected the sixth Lok Sabha Speaker on 26 March 1977. However, he resigned from that position for the presidential election a few months later.

In 1977, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad died. A presidential election was held and Neelam Sneeva Reddy was unanimously elected President. He was the youngest president. He was then 65 years old.

Neelam S. Sanjeeva Reddy was inducted into office on the 25th of July 1977. He worked for three governments during his tenure: Indira Gandhi, Chaudhary Charan Sing, and Morarji Desai.

Retirement and death

Neelam S. Sanjeeva Reddy completed his term in July 1982 and moved to Anantapur where he began farming. Ramakrishna Hegde, then Chief Minister of Karnataka, invited him to move to Bangalore. But he chose Anantapur as his preferred city to live the rest of his life. Neelam Sanjeeva died from pneumonia in Bangalore Nagar on June 1, 1996.