| Kyasamballi Chengalaraya Reddy | |
| Order: | 3rd |
| Office: | Governor of Madhya Pradesh |
| Term Start: | 10 February 1966 |
| Term End: | 7 March 1971 |
| 1Blankname: | Chief Minister |
| 1Namedata: | Dwarka Prasad Mishra Govind Narayan Singh Nareshchandra Singh Shyama Charan Shukla |
| Successor: | Satya Narayan Sinha |
| Term Start1: | 11 February 1965 |
| Term End1: | 2 February 1966 |
| 1Blankname1: | Chief Minister |
| 1Namedata1: | Dwarka Prasad Mishra |
| Predecessor1: | Hari Vinayak Pataskar |
| Successor1: | P. V. Dixit |
| Office2: | Minister of Commerce and Industry |
| Primeminister2: | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Term Start2: | 5 April 1961 |
| Term End2: | 19 July 1963 |
| Predecessor2: | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Successor2: | Manubhai Shah |
| Office3: | 1st Chief Minister of Mysore State |
| Term Start3: | 26 January 1950 |
| Term End3: | 30 March 1952 |
| Predecessor3: | Office Established |
| Successor3: | Kengal Hanumanthaiah |
| Office4: | 1st Prime Minister of Mysore State |
| Term Start4: | 25 October 1947 |
| Term End4: | 26 January 1950 |
| Predecessor4: | Office Established |
| Successor4: | Himself as Chief Minister |
| Birth Date: | 4 May 1902 |
| Birth Place: | Kyasamballi, Kolar District, Kingdom of Mysore, Mysore Residency, British India (Now in Kyasamballi, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) |
| Party: | Indian National Congress |
Kyasamballi Chengaluraya Reddy (4 May 1902 – 27 February 1976) was the first Chief Minister of Mysore State (Now Karnataka). Reddy later served as the governor of Madhya Pradesh.
K.C. Reddy was born on 4 May 1902 into a Telugu Reddy family in Kyasamballi village Mysore Kingdom, now in Kolar district(AP-KA Border). He was a revolutionary from childhood and participated in many protests against British rule in India.[1] [2]
After graduating in law, Reddy along with other political activists, founded the Praja Paksha (Peoples' Party) in 1930.[3] The aim of this party was to achieve responsible government in the Princely state of Mysore. The party gained support in rural areas as it largely highlighted the issues of farmers. The Praja Paksha and Praja Mitra Mandali joined to form the Praja Samyukta Paksha (Mysore People's Federation) in 1934. Reddy served as its president from 1935 to 1937.[4] Later, the federation merged with the Indian National Congress and participated in the Indian independence movement.[5] Reddy served as the president of Mysore Congress twice, in 1937–38 and 1946–47. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly of India.
After independence of India in 1947, he was at the forefront of the Mysore Chalo movement seeking responsible state government in Mysore State and went on to become the first Chief Minister of the state.[6] [7] He served in this position from 1947 to 1952.
Reddy was elected as a member of the Mysore Legislative Assembly in 1952 representing Bangarapet.Subsequently, he served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1952 to 1957 and as a member of the Lok Sabha, representing Kolar from 1957 to 1962. During this period, he also served as Union Minister for Housing and Supplies (1957–61) and as Union Minister for Commerce and Industries (1961–62). Later, he also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 1965 to 1971.[8]
Reddy's birth centenary was commemorated in 2002 when his contribution towards the development of Karnataka was hailed.[9]