YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Mudragada Padmanabham, who led the Kapu sanctuary movement for over 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 years old. His son Giri Babu said that Mudragada died around 6pm after his condition deteriorated. He was admitted to hospital on June 16 to treat kidney complications.
Mudragada, a native of Kiralampudi village in East Godavari district, 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 member of the Lok Sabha.
Widely viewed as the face of the Kapu reservation movement, he has led numerous movements, including hunger strikes and statewide protests, to demand 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 pledged to change his name to Padmanabha Reddy if the YSRCP loses the 2024 elections. After the LDF-led coalition came to power, he fulfilled his pledge and officially changed his name in government records.
