Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao has been awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously. The Union government announced the Bharat Ratna to PV on Friday. Along with PV, former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh and agronomist MS Swaminathan were announced the prestigious Bharat Ratna award. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared it on his social media account.

The Union Government recently announced Bharat Ratna for BJP patriarch Lal Kishan Advani.

Delighted to share that our former Prime Minister, Shri PV Narasimha Rao Garu, will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

As a distinguished scholar and statesman, Narasimha Rao Garu served India extensively in various capacities. He is equally remembered for the work he did as… pic.twitter.com/lihdk2BzDU
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 9, 2024

PV Narasimha Rao hailed from Bhimadevarapalli mandal of the erstwhile Karimnagar district. He took his first political steps from the Manthani constituency. He contested for the first time as a Congress candidate in 1957 and won. Then, in 1962, 1967, and 1972, he won consecutively. After winning his second term as MLA, PV got the chance to become a minister. PV served as Minister of Justice, Information, Medical, and Debt for nine years. With the developments in 1971, the Congress leadership appointed PV as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. After holding the post for two years, he bid farewell to state politics.

In 1977, PV contested for the Lok Sabha from Hanumakonda, marking his entry into national politics. In the elections held in 1980, he once again won as an MP from the same Hanumakonda constituency. After that, he was elected as MP from Ramtek in Maharashtra in 1984 and 1989. He worked as a minister in the central cabinet.

In 1991, PV became the Prime Minister in the aftermath of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. He served as the Prime Minister until 1996. He has gone down in history as the first Telugu person to hold the post of PM and the first South Indian. PV was known for economic reforms. He was the first non-Gandhi Prime Minister to complete a 5-year full-term as PM and to run a coalition government with his political acumen.

Also Read: CM Jagan lauds the decision to award 'Telugu Bidda' PV Narasimha Rao with Bharat Ratna