Veteran Kapu Leader Mudragada Padmanabham Passes Away at 73
Veteran political figure and prominent Kapu community leader Mudragada Padmanabham passed away on Tuesday at a private hospital in Hyderabad following a prolonged illness. He was 73 years old and had been undergoing medical care for severe respiratory issues.
Born on January 22, 1953, in Kirlampudi village of East Godavari district, Padmanabham was a massive force in Andhra Pradesh politics for over four decades. He initially entered public service in 1978, winning as an MLA from the Prathipadu constituency. Over his extensive career, he served as a state minister under multiple administrations and was elected as a Member of Parliament from Kakinada in 1999.
Padmanabham was most widely recognized as the fiery face of the Kapu reservation movement, dedicated to championing backward class status for his community. His leadership of the historic ‘Kapu Aikyagarjana’ rally in Tuni in 2016 remains a defining moment in the state’s modern political history.
Top political leaders across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, have expressed deep grief over his demise. They extended their heartfelt condolences to his surviving family members and honored his lifelong devotion to social justice
