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Veteran Kapu leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Mudragada Padmanabham died on Tuesday, July 14, due to prolonged illness, at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He was 73.
He is survived by his wife Padmavathi, sons Veera Raghava Rao (Balu) and Giribabu, and daughter Kranthi.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential Kapu leaders in Andhra Pradesh, Padmanabham campaigned for the inclusion of the Kapu community in the Backward Classes (BC) category. His decades-long agitation for Kapu reservations became one of the state's most significant social movements and defined his political legacy.
Leaders across the political spectrum expressed grief over his demise.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu described the news as deeply saddening and conveyed his condolences to Padmanabham's family. YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said Padmanabham's service to the people would remain an enduring legacy.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said Padmanabham had consistently fought for public causes, both as a legislator and as a people's leader. Jana Sena Party chief and Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan also expressed condolences to the bereaved family and his supporters. State Human Resources Minister Nara Lokesh paid tribute to the veteran leader.
A political journey across parties
Padmanabham began his political career with the Congress before joining the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), where he served as a minister between 1985 and 1988. He resigned from the Cabinet and later quit the party following the murder of Congress leader Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga in 1988, an incident that triggered widespread caste violence across coastal Andhra Pradesh.
In the years that followed, Padmanabham remained a prominent voice for the Kapu community. He was associated with the BJP between 1995 and 1999 before returning to the TDP, winning the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat in 1999. He later rejoined the Congress and, over the years, frequently criticised successive governments—including the TDP, Congress and YSRCP—for failing to fulfil the long-standing demand for BC status for Kapus.
Following Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga's assassination, Padmanabham emerged as one of the principal faces of the Kapu movement and presided over the first major Kapunadu conference in Vijayawada. He later spearheaded several agitations demanding reservations for the community, taking on successive state governments.
Face of the Kapu reservation movement
Padmanabham's most prominent agitation came in January 2016, when he led the Kapu Garjana Sabha in Tuni, demanding that the Chandrababu Naidu-led government honour its 2014 election promise of granting BC status to Kapus.
The protest turned violent after some participants attacked the Ratnachal Express near Tuni railway station, pelting stones and setting several coaches on fire. National Highway-16 was also blocked during the agitation, and several passengers and police personnel were injured.
Despite the controversy surrounding the incident, Padmanabham remained one of the most influential leaders of the Kapu reservation movement and continued to press for the community's inclusion in the BC list until his final years.
In March 2024, Padmanabham joined the YSR Congress Party ahead of the Assembly elections.
During the election campaign, he had declared that he would add "Reddy" to his name if Jana Sena chief K. Pawan Kalyan won the Pithapuram Assembly constituency. After Pawan Kalyan's victory, Padmanabham formally changed his name in June 2024, marking the final high-profile political episode of his long public career.
