The 2022 state reorganisation created a 26-district framework from 4 April 2022. Many familiar undivided names remained, but their territory shrank. The 31 December 2025 round added Polavaram from the former Alluri Sitharama Raju area and Markapuram from western Prakasam. It also changed Annamayya headquarters from Rayachoti to Madanapalle. Count the districts for the date in the question, not for the date of the textbook or an old map. A 2022 list with 26 entries is historical evidence, not a current count.

Build a three-column timeline: before April 2022, April 2022 through December 2025, and from 31 December 2025. Record only claims valid in each column. This avoids applying a 2011 census table, which follows an older administrative boundary, to a 2026 district.

Worked example: AP had 13 districts before the 2022 reorganisation, 26 from 4 April 2022 and 28 from 31 December 2025. Write the three counts on a timeline, then list Polavaram and Markapuram as later additions. A 2022 answer cannot be used for a question explicitly dated 2026. If the wording says 'original post-bifurcation', identify which year it means before counting.

Active recall: State the two reorganisation dates and the district count after each.

13 to 26 to 28

The date belongs beside every district count.

Read this visual

Write 13, 26 and 28 beside the correct dates. Polavaram and Markapuram appear in the later 28-district arrangement.

Current district geometry: APSDMA. Current district names and headquarters: credited official directories and portals.