Former Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, popularly known as Alla Nani, passed away at the age of 56 after suffering a cardiac arrest in Visakhapatnam on 15 September 2026. The three-time Eluru MLA had served as Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education in the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government from 2019 to 2022, steering the state’s health response during the Covid-19 pandemic. His sudden death has drawn condolences from leaders across parties, including Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Who Was Alla Nani?
Alla Nani was the popular name of Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, a senior politician from Eluru in Andhra Pradesh who served as a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and as a former Deputy Chief Minister of the state. Alla Nani was born on 30 December 1969 in Eluru, then part of the undivided West Godavari district, to Alla Suryachandra Rao and Nagamani.
Alla Nani completed his schooling at KP High School, Eluru in 1985 and his Intermediate at Sir C R Reddy College, Eluru in 1988, and later enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts at Andhra University which he discontinued. Alla Nani is survived by his wife Alla Rekha and two sons, Alla Kalikrishna Manichandra and Alla Ashish. At the time of his death, his sons were reported to be pursuing studies in the United States. Alla Nani was known in the state for maintaining cordial relations across party lines and for generally staying away from controversies.
Alla Nani Which Party Did He Belong To?
Alla Nani belonged to three parties during his three-decade career, the Indian National Congress at the start, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for the longest period from 2013 to 2024, and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) at the time of his death. Alla Nani began with the Congress in the 1990s, joined the YSR Congress Party in 2013 after resigning from the Congress, and later joined the Telugu Desam Party on 13 February 2025 after leaving the YSRCP.
Alla Nani entered politics through the Indian National Congress and contested the Eluru Assembly seat in 1994 and 1999 but lost both elections. He won as a Congress MLA in 2004 and again in 2009, and continued as a Congress legislator until 2013. In 2013, he resigned from the Congress and joined the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), which was founded in 2011 by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and is headquartered in Amaravati. He became the YSRCP district president for Eluru and remained a key YSRCP leader in the Godavari belt for over a decade.
After the YSRCP suffered a heavy defeat in the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, Alla Nani resigned from the party’s primary membership and from the post of district president on 17 August 2024, stating that he was stepping away from active politics for personal reasons. He later joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on 13 February 2025. The TDP was founded in 1982 by N T Rama Rao and is currently led by N Chandrababu Naidu. At the time of his death in September 2026, he was a member of the TDP.
Political Journey of Alla Nani: From Eluru MLA to Deputy Chief Minister
Alla Nani contested six Assembly elections from Eluru between 1994 and 2024 and served the constituency as MLA in 2004-2014 and 2019-2024, with a term as Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) between those Assembly terms. His career shows the full arc from repeated defeats to successive wins and then ministerial responsibility at the state level.
Three Terms as Eluru MLA and Tenure as MLC
Alla Nani lost the 1994 and 1999 elections on a Congress ticket from Eluru. He secured his first victory in 2004, defeating TDP candidate Ambika Krishna by 33,053 votes with 72,490 votes, and retained the seat in 2009 with 49,962 votes, a margin of 13,682 votes over Praja Rajyam Party candidate Badeti Kota Rama Rao. After joining the YSRCP, he lost the 2014 election to TDP candidate Badeti Kota Rama Rao, who polled 82,483 votes against his 57,880 votes.
After the 2014 defeat, Alla Nani was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 2017 under the MLAs quota and served as MLC from 2017 to 2019. The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature, with 58 members and headquarters in Amaravati, and members elected by MLAs hold a six-year term. His vacancy after resigning from the Council to contest the Assembly led to a by-election in which Mopidevi Venkataramana was elected.
Alla Nani returned to the Assembly in 2019, winning Eluru on a YSRCP ticket with 72,247 votes against TDP candidate Badeti Kota Rama Rao who secured 68,175 votes. The 2019 result was part of a statewide sweep where the YSRCP won 151 of 175 Assembly seats. In 2024, however, Alla Nani lost the Eluru seat to TDP candidate Badeti Radha Krishnayya by more than 62,000 votes.
| Year | Party | Result | Key Opponent and Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | INC | Lost | Contested from Eluru on Congress ticket |
| 1999 | INC | Lost | Lost to TDP candidate Ambica Krishna |
| 2004 | INC | Won | Won with 72,490 votes, margin 33,053 over Ambika Krishna |
| 2009 | INC | Won | Won with 49,962 votes, margin 13,682 over Badeti Kota Rama Rao (PRAP) |
| 2014 | YSRCP | Lost | Lost to Badeti Kota Rama Rao (TDP) by 24,603 votes |
| 2019 | YSRCP | Won | Won with 72,247 votes over Badeti Kota Rama Rao (TDP) |
| 2024 | YSRCP | Lost | Lost to Badeti Radha Krishnayya (TDP) by more than 62,000 votes |
Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister During the Pandemic
After the YSRCP formed the government on 30 May 2019 under Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Alla Nani was inducted as one of the five Deputy Chief Ministers on 8 June 2019 and was given the portfolio of Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education. Alla Nani served as Deputy Chief Minister from 8 June 2019 to 7 April 2022, when the Cabinet was reshuffled.
As Health Minister, Alla Nani handled Andhra Pradesh’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020 onwards. The portfolio included oversight of the Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, headquartered at the Secretariat in Velagapudi, Guntur district. During the pandemic, his office coordinated measures such as district-wise nodal officers, helplines 1100 and 1102, airport and port screening, and expansion of testing and bed capacity in hospitals such as SVIMS and Ruia in Tirupati. He continued in the health portfolio until he was succeeded by Vidadala Rajini after the April 2022 reshuffle.
What Is the Role of Deputy Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh?
The post of Deputy Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh and in other Indian states is a political position, not a constitutional office. The Constitution of India creates the office of Chief Minister under Article 164, but it does not mention a Deputy Chief Minister. The Supreme Court of India, in its order of 12 February 2024 headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, held that the appointment of a Deputy Chief Minister does not breach the Constitution because the person remains a minister in the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, draws the same salary and perks as any other Cabinet Minister, and must be a member of the legislature within six months if not already elected.
In practice, a Deputy Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, ranks as a Cabinet Minister, and is often given charge of important portfolios. The Chief Minister may appoint more than one Deputy Chief Minister to balance regional, caste and alliance considerations. The position carries ceremonial seniority but no separate financial powers beyond those of the allocated departments, and it does not confer the right to act as Chief Minister or to preside over Cabinet meetings in the Chief Minister’s absence.
The Five Deputy Chief Minister Model From 2019 to 2024
When Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy formed the government in June 2019, he appointed five Deputy Chief Ministers at once, a first in Andhra Pradesh, describing the Cabinet as socially inclusive. The five who took oath on 8 June 2019 along with Alla Nani were Pamula Pushpa Sreevani (Tribal Welfare), Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose (Revenue), K Narayana Swamy (Excise) and Amzath Basha Shaik Bepari (Minority Welfare). Pushpa Sreevani, then 27 years old and MLA from Kurupam, became the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the state. All five held the post from 2019 to 2022, when a reconstituted Cabinet later named a new set of five, including Budi Mutyala Naidu, Kottu Satyanarayana and Peedika Rajanna Dora, who served from 11 April 2022 to 11 June 2024.
| Period | Deputy Chief Ministers | Chief Minister |
|---|---|---|
| 8 June 2019 to 7 April 2022 | Alla Nani, Pamula Pushpa Sreevani, Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, K Narayana Swamy, Amzath Basha | Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy |
| 11 April 2022 to 11 June 2024 | Budi Mutyala Naidu, Kottu Satyanarayana, Peedika Rajanna Dora, Amzath Basha, K Narayana Swamy | Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy |
| From 12 June 2024 | Konidela Pawan Kalyan (sole Deputy Chief Minister) | N Chandrababu Naidu |
Current Andhra Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan
The present Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister is Konidela Pawan Kalyan, chief of the Janasena Party (JSP). Pawan Kalyan assumed office on 12 June 2024 after winning the Pithapuram Assembly seat by 70,279 votes and being sworn in as a minister in the N Chandrababu Naidu government. Pawan Kalyan was announced as Deputy Chief Minister on 14 June 2024 and holds the portfolios of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development and Rural Water Supply along with Environment and Forests and Science and Technology.
Pawan Kalyan, born on 2 September 1971, is an actor turned politician who founded the Janasena Party on 14 March 2014. His appointment contrasts with the earlier five-Deputy Chief Minister model, as the current National Democratic Alliance government has only one Deputy Chief Minister. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the TDP won 135 seats, the JSP won 21 seats and the BJP won 8 seats, while the YSRCP was reduced to 11 seats.
Eluru Assembly Constituency and Why It Matters
Eluru Assembly Constituency is a general category seat numbered 65 in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, which has a total of 175 seats. The Eluru Assembly seat lies in Eluru district, a district that was carved out on 4 April 2022 from parts of the old West Godavari and Krishna districts with headquarters at Eluru city. The district covers about 6,411 square kilometres and comprises 27 mandals across three revenue divisions, Eluru, Jangareddygudem and Nuzvid.
The Eluru Assembly segment is one of seven Assembly segments of the Eluru Lok Sabha constituency, along with Unguturu, Denduluru, Polavaram (ST), Chintalapudi, Nuzvid and Kaikalur. The Eluru city is located on the banks of the Tammileru river near Kolleru Lake and is often described as part of the fertile Godavari delta region. For administrative purposes, the Eluru Assembly had about 2,38,903 electors in 2019 with 247 polling stations and a voter turnout of about 67.6 percent in that election.
The current Eluru MLA is Badeti Radha Krishnayya of the TDP, who defeated Alla Nani in the 2024 election. Earlier holders of the seat include Badeti Kota Rama Rao of the TDP who won in 2014, and Alla Nani himself who held it in 2004, 2009 and 2019. The list of former Eluru MLAs therefore links directly to the changing fortunes of the Congress, TDP and YSRCP in coastal Andhra.
How Alla Nani Died and Condolences Received
Alla Nani died of a cardiac arrest in Visakhapatnam on 15 September 2026. According to reports from Visakhapatnam and Eluru, Alla Nani had gone for a morning walk and returned home before complaining of uneasiness, and was rushed to hospital where he died during treatment. His mortal remains were taken by road to Eluru, where family members, supporters and followers paid last respects, and cremation was held on 16 September 2026 in Eluru.
Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu posted that he was deeply shocked by the sudden death at the young age of 56 and prayed for peace for the departed soul. YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy described the death as an irreparable loss to the family and admirers and recalled Alla Nani’s three terms as Eluru MLA and his service in the Cabinet. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan recalled the former minister’s public service, while Minister Nara Lokesh remembered him as a leader who stayed away from controversies and maintained amicable relations with everyone. Former Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy also expressed grief and noted that his contribution to the state would be remembered.
Key Takeaways
- Former Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, popularly known as Alla Nani, died of cardiac arrest in Visakhapatnam on 15 September 2026 at age 56.
- Alla Nani was born on 30 December 1969 in Eluru, West Godavari district, and served as Eluru MLA three times in 2004, 2009 and 2019 and as MLC from 2017 to 2019.
- Alla Nani served as Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education from 8 June 2019 to 7 April 2022 in the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government and led the health response during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Alla Nani belonged to the Congress until 2013, then the YSR Congress Party from 2013 to 17 August 2024, and joined the Telugu Desam Party on 13 February 2025, which was his party at the time of death.
- Andhra Pradesh had a five Deputy Chief Minister model from 2019 to 2024, while the current sole Deputy Chief Minister is Konidela Pawan Kalyan, who took office on 12 June 2024 and holds Panchayati Raj and Environment portfolios.
- The post of Deputy Chief Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution of India, and the Supreme Court on 12 February 2024 ruled that the appointment is not unconstitutional as the holder remains a Cabinet Minister.
