Know your MLA: Hat-trick MLA Chinarajappa is an icon of loyalty

Rajamahendravaram : Peddapuram MLA Nimmakayala Chinarajappa has been in the TDP since its inception. He is not only a veteran but also has a reputation for reliability and loyalty towards the party leadership. He is a senior politician in the state and a key member of the TDP. He was born in 1953 in Uppalaguptam mandal in Konaseema in the united East Godavari in a farmer family and studied till MA while farming.

Being a fan of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, he got attracted to NTR’s ideals and entered politics. In 1989, he was elected as the president of the East Godavari district TDP. In the largest district with 21 constituencies, his adroitness in resolving the differences and quarrels among various groups and leaders attracted the attention of the party leadership.

Being a quiet and uncontroversial person, Chinarajappa remained the district party president for a long time except for four years around 2014. Under his leadership, the party was strengthened organisationally in all areas throughout the district. He successfully held various nominated posts as chairman of AP State Medical and Health Corporation in 1995, chairman of Civil Supplies Corporation in 1998 and director of Canara Bank in 2001.

In 2007, Chinarajappa was elected as MLC. He continued in that position till 2013. In the 2014 general elections, he contested as an MLA from the Peddapuram constituency in the upland region and surprised everyone by winning the seat though he migrated to there to contest from his Konseema delta region.

In the first Cabinet of divided Andhra Pradesh formed in 2014, Chinarajappa was appointed as Deputy Chief Minister and home minister and continued in that position till 2019. In the 2019 elections, even when the YSRCP wave swept across the state, he proved himself to be a strong leader by winning again in Peddapuram. He got a majority of 4,000 votes in that election. In 2024, he registered a hat-trick victory with a huge majority of about 40,000 votes from the same seat.