| Tenneti Viswanadham | |
|---|---|
| MP | |
| Preceded by | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram |
| Succeeded by | P. V. G. Raju |
| Constituency | Visakhapatnam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1896 Lakkavaram, Andhra Pradesh |
| Died | 1979 Visakhapatnam |
| Political party | Progresive Group |
| Residence | Visakhapatnam |
| Religion | Hindu |
Tenneti Viswanadham (Telugu: తెన్నేటి విశ్వనాధం) (1896–1979) was a political figure from Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India. He took an active part in India's struggle for independence. He is remembered now for his role in the establishment of a modern and shore based steel plant at Visakhapatnam.
Tenneti was born at Lakkavaram in Visakhapatnam district in 1895. Inspired by Gandhiji, he joined the Indian Freedom Movement and participated in the salt satyagraha and the Quit India movement. He went to jail five times during the freedom movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1937. During 1951 he served as the leader of the Opposition in the Madras Assembly. He was elected to 4th Lok Sabha from Visakhapatnam constituency.
He was also a man of letters;but for the freedom struggle and his political mentors like P.C.Venkatapathi Raju,he would have become a leading literary figure like Sri Sri and Narayanababu.
He served as the Minister for Finance and Law for Andhra State after the state was carved out of Madras Presidency.
He breathed his last in 1979
A Five Rupee stamp in his name was released on 10 November 2005 by Department of Posts,India
The city of Visakhapatnam shows its affection to this gentle giant in several ways.
° There is a park named Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam on the Beach road.
° There are two bronze statues erected in his memory- one was erected right in the heart of the city at Jagadamba Junction,and subsequently another was erected in the Steel Plant township 'Ukkunagaram' . One statue was unveiled by the then President of India, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, and the other by the then Prime Minister of India, PV Narasimha Rao.
° The Municipal Corporation building is called 'Tenneti Bhavanam'.
° There is a colony going by the name Tenneti Nagar, in Visakhapatnam which is named after him
NOTE :
1. A brochure released by the postal department on the occasion gives a brief sketch of Tenneti's life.
2. The first-ever elections held to the legislatures in 1931.