KAKINADA: Veteran politician and Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham, who was known as Padmanabha Reddy in his later years, passed away at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday after battling pulmonary and kidney-related ailments. He had been undergoing treatment for several months.
A four-time MLA, one-time MP and former minister, Padmanabham had a political career spanning nearly five decades. He entered politics as a Janata Party MLA from Prattipadu in 1978. After the formation of the TDP by NT Rama Rao in 1982, he joined the party and won the 1983 and 1985 Assembly elections from Prattipadu. He served as a minister in the NTR Cabinet before resigning and floating the Praja Rakshana Samiti. He later co-founded the Telugu Nadu Party with K E Krishnamurthy and K Jana Reddy. Subsequently joining the Congress, he was again elected MLA and served as a minister. He lost the 1994 election and did not contest again from Prattipadu.
Padmanabham later emerged as one of the most prominent leaders of the Kapu reservation movement, spearheading several agitations for the community. He also spent four years in the BJP and played a role in the election of actor Krishnam Raju as MP from Kakinada.
He joined the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on March 15, 2024, in the presence of party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. During the Assembly election campaign, he vowed to change his name to Padmanabha Reddy if Pawan Kalyan won from Pithapuram. After Pawan Kalyan’s victory, he fulfilled the pledge through a gazette notification.