Kapu leader and Former AP Minister Mudragada passes away in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, July 14 (TNT): Senior politician, former Andhra Pradesh minister and Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabha Reddy ( formerly known as Mudragada Padmanabham) passed away at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
He was 73 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Born as Mudragada Padmanabham in Kirlampudi village of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, he began his political career as a Janata Party MLA from Prattipadu in 1978.
He later joined the Telugu Desam Party after its formation in 1982 and won the 1983 and 1985 Assembly elections from the constituency.
During his political career spanning over four decades, Mudragada served as a four-time MLA, one-time Lok Sabha member from Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and held ministerial positions in the governments led by the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress.
After resigning from the TDP ministry, he floated the Praja Rakshana Samiti and later co-founded the Telugu Nadu Party.
He subsequently returned to mainstream politics, was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a brief period, and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kakinada on a TDP ticket in 1999.
In recent years, Mudragada emerged as one of the most prominent voices of the Kapu community, spearheading agitations demanding inclusion of the Kapu community in the Backward Classes category.
He joined the YSR Congress Party in March 2024 in the presence of party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, he vowed to change his name from Mudragada Padmanabham to Mudragada Padmanabha Reddy if Jana Sena Party President Pawan Kalyan was not defeated in Pithapuram.
After Pawan Kalyan won the election, he fulfilled his pledge and officially changed his name through the gazette in June 2024.
Leaders across the political spectrum condoled his death, describing him as a seasoned politician and a prominent leader of the Kapu community.
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