Weeks after the Andhra Pradesh government officially reorganised the state’s districts on April 4, it announced that one of them would be named after BR Ambedkar. Konaseema, carved out of East Godavari district and headquartered at Amalapuram, will now be renamed BR Ambedkar Konaseema district. A preliminary notification was reportedly issued in this regard by the Andhra Pradesh government on May 18, Wednesday, inviting any objections or suggestions to the proposed move. As part of the district reorganisation, 26 districts were carved out of the existing 13 districts in the state.
Among the newly formed districts is NTR district, with its headquarters at Vijayawada, named after former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. Alluri Sitharama Raju district, comprising the Araku valley region with headquarters at Paderu, was named after the revolutionary leader who was not a tribal man himself but fought the British Raj for the land rights of tribal people.
Sri Sathya Sai district, carved out of Anantapur district, was named after Sathya Sai Baba. He was a self-proclaimed godman who claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and his unscientific claims were challenged and debunked by many rationalists. He had established his base and ashram at Puttaparthi, which is now the district headquarters. Annamayya district, headquartered at Rayachoty, is named after the 15th-century poet, saint and composer Tallapaka Annamacharya.
The names of the previously existing 13 districts remained unchanged. Among them, the Kadapa district was renamed as YSR district to commemorate former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy after his demise. The Nellore district is officially named Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, after Potti Sriramulu, who passed away after a 56-day hunger strike demanding a separate state of Andhra Pradesh comprising the Telugu speaking areas. Prakasam district is named after Tanguturi Prakasam, the first Chief Minister of the erstwhile Andhra state before it was merged with the Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad state in 1956.