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Parvathaneni Upendra (14 July 1936 – 16 November 2009) was an Indian Politician from Andhra Pradesh represented Telugu Desam Party. He served as the Union Cabinet Minister between 1989 and 1990 in V. P. Singh Cabinet. He was the Rajya Sabha Member from Andhra Pradesh 2 times between 1984 and 1996. He was elected successfully from Vijayawada Parliament two times in 1996 and 1998 Elections.

Career

P. Upendra holds M. A. degree in English Literature, Post Graduate Diploma in Public Relations and Journalism from Andhra University, University College, Madras and Indian Institute Public Administration, New Delhi. He started as a journalist after graduation.

P. Upendra worked over two decades for Indian Railways as a Public Relations Officer before entering politics. He served as Personal Secretary to then Railways Minister Madhu Dandavate between 1977 and 1979.

In 1982, he joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by the film actor-turned-politician N. T. Rama Rao. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1984 and continued as its member till 1996. He was designated as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha during the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi (1984–1989).

An articulate politician, Upendra enjoyed cordial relations with many senior political leaders, cutting across party lines, at the national level. This had helped him become convenor of the National Front in 1988.

Upendra was the general secretary of the National Front and was minister for information and broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs in V. P. Singh's cabinet. He oversaw the various parliamentary procedures that were essential to the first coalition government in India. He was also responsible for enacting the Prasar Bharati Act 1990. Together with George Fernandes he attempted to negotiate with RSS chief Madhukar Deoras on the Rath Yathra of L. K. Advani, but this was unsuccessful.

He was expelled from the TDP in March 1992 following differences with N. Chandrababu Naidu. After exit, Upendra spent a couple of years as an "unattached" member in the Rajya Sabha before formally joining Congress in 1994. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vijayawada in 1996 and re-elected in 1998.

P. Upendra, was more or less idle since 1999. He consistently maintained a stance opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party and parties like the TDP under Chandrababu Naidu that had allied with it. He quit ruling Congress party in November 2008 to join the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) floated by actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi. While joining the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), he had said that the Congress leadership did not use his services either at the national level or in the state.

Mr. Upendra was instrumental in getting the first escalator in South Central Railway at Vijayawada Junction railway station. He also got Doordarshan Kendra for the city and paved the way for the removal of the Satyanarayanapuram railway track.

Upendra wrote a book Gatam Swagatam in two parts listing his political experience.

Personal life

Upendra married Vasundhara in 1956. They had three sons and one daughter. His eldest son P.V K Mohan is the senior most member of National Shipping Board, second son P Sarat Kumar and third son P. Vivekananda are part of Seaways Shipping Limited. His daughter Padmasri is married to former MP Lagadapati Rajagopal.

Death

Upendra died in Hyderabad on 16 November 2009 due to renal failure at the age of 73. He was on dialysis for five years following a kidney ailment.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, PRP president Chiranjeevi and other leaders mourned his death.

References

1. Merinews
2. "NEW INDIAN LEADER SWEARS IN CABINET". The New York Times. 6 December 1989. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
3. BJP fast losing friends, says Upendra, The Hindu, 3 Mar. 2002.
4. P. Upendra joins Praja Rajyam Party
5. "Upendra walked like a political colossus". The Hindu. 17 November 2009.
6. "P. Upendra passes away". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009.

External links

• "Biographical Sketch: Upendra, Shri Parvathaneni". parliamentofindia.nic.in. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012.

v t e Ministers of information and broadcasting
Vallabhbhai Patel R. R. Diwakar B. V. Keskar Satya Narayan Sinha Indira Gandhi Nandini Satpathy Inder Kumar Gujral Vidya Charan Shukla L. K. Advani Purushottam Kaushik Vasant Sathe H. K. L. Bhagat V. N. Gadgil Ajit Kumar Panja P. Upendra Chandra Shekhar Ajit Kumar Panja K. P. Singh Deo P. A. Sangma Jaipal Reddy Arun Jaitley Sushma Swaraj Ravi Shankar Prasad Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi Ambika Soni Manish Tewari Prakash Javadekar Arun Jaitley Venkaiah Naidu Smriti Irani Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Prakash Javadekar Anurag Thakur(incumbent)

• 1936 births
• 2009 deaths
• Members of the Cabinet of India
• V. P. Singh administration
• People from West Godavari district
• Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh
• India MPs 1996–1997
• India MPs 1998–1999
• Telugu Desam Party politicians
• Union ministers from United Andhra Pradesh
• Telugu politicians
• Indian National Congress politicians
• Praja Rajyam Party politicians
• Ministers for information and broadcasting of India
• Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh