The call had little impact in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, while it evoked mixed response in Visakhapatnam and other districts.
Calling UPA government's recent decisions on reforms as "anti-people", BJP, TDP, CPI(M), CPI, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, YSR Congress Party and other parties organised massive rallies and rasta-rokos in Hyderabad and elsewhere.
Those who were held by police in the state capital included senior BJP leaders Venkaiah Naidu, Shahnawaz Hussain, Bandaru Dattareya and state BJP chief B Kishan Reddy; CPI(M) state secretary B V Raghavulu, CPI state secretary K Narayana and leaders of TDP.
Hyderabad Police took as many as 975 political workers into preventive custody.
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) cancelled 15 per cent of bus services across the state, while the trains ran normally, officials said.
APSRTC put 20,246 buses on the roads, out of the total 23,924 buses it operates daily.
More From This Section
Several educational institutions, shops and business establishments in the city and districts remained closed.
However, it was business as usual for IT industry in the state, an office-bearer of IT and ITES Industries Association of Andhra Pradesh told PTI.