- Nadamuri Taraka Rama Rao was popularly known as N. T. Rama Rao or by his initials NTR, was an Indian movie actor, writer, director, producer, and politician who also served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for three terms.
2. NTR has entered politics when he has founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on 29 March 1982 at Hyderabad.
3. NTR has stated that his decision was based on a historic need to rid Andhra Pradesh of the corrupt and inept rule of the Indian National Congress which had governed the state since its formation in 1956 and whose leadership had changed the Chief Minister five times in five years.
4. Earlier NTR has used many innovative ways of campaigning, such as being the first politician in India to use rath yatras for campaigning and however it was MGR who had started the open top van campaigning for elections.
5. NTR has used a modified Chevrolet van which was given the name of Chaitanya Ratham and in this, NTR has travelled across the state of Andhra Pradesh, crisscrossing all the districts, with his son Nandamuri Harikrishna also a film actor who was driving the van.
6. NTR has completed his five year term as Chief Minister and by December 1989 assembly elections however, he was voted out of power due to a wave of anti-incumbency sweeping the state as a result of which the Congress returned to power.
7. NTR also campaigned in other states, besides Andhra Pradesh. In 1984, when the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu and fellow actor M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) was unable to campaign in the state elections due to his being hospitalized in the USA and NTR, who was a close friend of MGR, campaigned for his party, the AIADMK.
8. NTR has passed legislations allowing private transport operators to compete with the government-owned APSRTC.
9. NTR has introduced many populist schemes such as the Midday Meal Scheme for poor children, rice at 2 per kg, subsidized electricity and prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the state among others.
10. NTR was a fierce advocate of Telugu pride and was instrumental in shifting the Telugu Film Industry from Madras to Hyderabad.
