Senior Congress leader Jalagam Kondal Rao, the brother of former united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jalagam Vengal Rao, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91. He was born in present-day Khammam district in Telangana on December 10, 1928. He was 91.
His family members said that he was suffering from various health ailments and his condition deteriorated due to old age. They added that it was a real loss to the people of Khammam, which is where he hailed from.
According to reports, Kondal Rao was elected as a legislator first in 1957 in Vemsoor Assembly constituency (Present-day Sathupalli) and served twice as a Lok Sabha member from Khammam. He was a member of the Congress party throughout his political career.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also expressed his condolences on Kondal Rao's demise. In a condolence message, the CM recalled Kondal Rao's services as a two-time Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Khammam Zilla Parishad. He also conveyed his condolences to the members of the bereaved family.
His last rites are expected to be conducted at the Mahaprasthanam crematorium in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills area on Wednesday.
Kondal Rao's brother, Vengal Rao, served as the fifth Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and also served two terms as a Lok Sabha member from Khammam prior to that. Vengal Rao's sons, Jalagam Venkat Rao and Jalagam Prasada Rao, also entered politics and have served as legislators in the Assembly from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the state.
Jalagam Venkat Rao served as a Congress MLA from Sathupally between 2004 and 2009 and was the sitting legislator from Kothagudem after he won on a TRS ticket in 2014. He lost to Congress candidate Vanama Venkateswara Rao in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Telangana.
Jalagam Prasada Rao, a former state Minister served as an MLA from Sathupally in 1983 and 1989.