Nestled along the borders of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh has come into focus thanks to the elevation of N Kiran Kumar Reddy to the post of chief minister.
For the first time in the state's political history, the chief minister as well as the Leader of opposition hail from the same district while the leader of the third largest party also represents the district though he is not a native.
While Kiran Kumar Reddy represents Pileru, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu is an MLA from Kuppam and Praja Rajyam Party president K Chiranjeevi represents temple-town Tirupati Assembly constituency.
Kiran Kumar Reddy is the third chief minister from Chittoor district.
Chandrababu Naidu and late N T Rama Rao were the other two, though the latter actually hailed from Krishna district. Rama Rao represented Tirupati Assembly constituency.
Reddy says, "I am a Hyderabadi by all means though I am an elected representative from Chittoor district".
The world-famous Tirumala hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara has always been the icon of Chittoor district which also boasts of famous temples like Tiruchanoor (Goddess Alamelu Manga), Srikalahasthi (Lord Siva) and Kanipakam (Lord Varasiddhi Vinayaka) around the temple-town Tirupati.
Chittoor is also famous for tourist spots like the historic Chandragiri Fort, scenic hill station Horsley Hills and Talaka forest, the destination for adventure tourists.
The Satyaveedu Special Economic Zone and the NTPC-BHEL power plants equipment manufacturing unit coming up at Mannavaram have placed Chittoor on the industrial map of the country.
"Chittoor is famous in many respects but still it is under-developed," a bureaucrat who headed the district previously pointed out.
Chittoor has been one of the backward districts in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.
Chandrababu Naidu is often criticised for not having developed his own district adequately despite serving as the state Chief Minister for about nine years.
"Now that the SEZ and the NTPC-BHEL unit are coming up, the growth momentum should pick up and steer the district on path of progress," the bureaucrat noted.