Senior YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Mudragada Padmanabham, who spearheaded the Kapu reservation movement for more than three decades, died on Tuesday evening while undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments at a private hospital in Hyderabad, his family said.
He was 73.His son, Giri Babu, said Mudragada died around 6 pm after his condition deteriorated. He had been admitted to the hospital on June 16 for treatment of kidney complications.
A native of Kirlampudi village in East Godavari district, Mudragada was born on January 22, 1953. He entered electoral politics in 1978 and went on to serve four terms as an MLA, two terms as a minister in the undivided Andhra Pradesh government, and one term as a Lok Sabha member.
Widely regarded as the face of the Kapu reservation movement, he led several agitations, including hunger strikes and statewide protests, demanding OBC status for the Kapu community to secure reservation benefits in education and government jobs.
Mudragada joined the YSR Congress Party ahead of the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections and remained with the party thereafter.
He had vowed to change his name to Padmanabha Reddy if the YSRCP lost the 2024 elections. After the TDP-led coalition came to power, he fulfilled the pledge and officially changed his name in government records.
