HYDERABAD: BJP veteran and former governor of Sikkim Ventrapragada Rama Rao (81), died at a hospital here on Sunday while undergoing treatment for severe lung infection. He was hospitalised about a month ago. Rama Rao is survived by wife and a son.
Rao, who was born on December 11, 1935, in Machilipatnam in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, was a lawyer by profession. He joined the Jana Sangh in 1956. He had practised at the AP High Court before being elected as MLC on four occasions in the erstwhile AP State Legislature.
Interestingly, Rama Rao was elected for a record four times in a row to the AP Legislative Council during 1966 to 1984 from the Hyderabad Graduates Constituency. While he served for three full terms in 1966, 1972 and 1978, the Legislative Council was abolished during his fourth term after his election from Graduates Constituency in 1984. His speeches in the Upper House were marked with humour and wit.
In fact, in a political career spanning nearly six decades, Rao held the post of national vice-president of the BJP. He also served as the president of the party unit in the then united AP for two times. In 2002, during the NDA regime, Rao was appointed as the governor of Sikkim.
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman, several BJP leaders visited Rama Rao’s house and paid homage to the departed leader. Chief ministers of Telangana and AP K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu, Union ministers YS Chowdhary and Bandaru Dattatreya, Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy expressed condolences.
The mortal remains of Rao would be kept at the BJP state headquarters here for the people to pay their last respects on Monday morning.