HYDERABAD: Former CPI MLA Gunda Mallesh died at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) on Tuesday while undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments. The 75-year-old was admitted to the hospital last week.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family. Mallesh, a native of Rechini village of erstwhile Adilabad district, represented Asifabad in the Assembly elections for three consecutive terms (1983, 1985 and 1994) and Bellampally in 2009. In 2018, he lost the election against a TRS candidate in Bellampally. In his early life, Mallesh worked as a truck driver and later joined the Singareni Collieries Company Limited. He fought for the workers’ rights and in 1970, he quit his job to enter public life. Meanwhile, CPI general secretary D Raja said Mallesh’s death is a major loss for the Left and the democratic movement. Senior CPI leaders Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, Dr K Narayana and Chada Venkat Reddy mourned his death. Endowment Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and other leaders expressed their condolences.