Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former MP Sugavasi Palakonda Rayudu passed away in the early hours of Tuesday. He breathed his last at 2 am while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bengaluru. He had been suffering from respiratory problems for some time and had been receiving treatment frequently.
The death of Palakonda Rayudu has caused deep sorrow among the family members as well as Telugu Desam Party workers. Having made his mark in politics, he has an inseparable connection with district and state level leaders. He is known as a leader admired by NTR and as an undisputed leader in politics from Rayachoti constituency.
Palakonda Rayudu was born on July 3, 1946 in Rayachoti town Masapeta, Annamayya district (formerly YSR Kadapa district). After studying till matriculation, he contested for the first time in 1978 on behalf of the Janata Party and won as Rayachoti MLA. In 1983, he contested as an independent candidate after not getting a TDP ticket and won. In 1984, NTR invited him to the TDP and gave him a Rajampet parliamentary ticket, and he contested and won as the Rajampet MP.
In 1999 and 2004, he won as a TDP MLA from Rayachoti. He has two sons and a daughter. The eldest son is the former chairman of the combined district ZP and contested from the Rajampet assembly in the last elections. The second son, Sugavasi Prasad Babu, is working full-time in politics as the TDP state executive secretary.
Palakonda Rayudu’s body was brought to Rayachoti from Bengaluru on Tuesday morning and kept at his home for the public to pay their respects. TDO leaders, activists and supporters in the constituency visited Palakonda Rayudu’s body and paid their respects.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu condoled the death of senior TDP leader and former Rajampet MP Palakonda Rayudu. He praised him for his efforts in the development of the area as Rajampet MP and Rayachoti MLA. CM Chandrababu expressed his deepest condolences to their family members.
Similarly, Ministers BC Janardhan Reddy and Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy condoled the death of Palakonda Rayudu. They praised Palakonda Rayudu’s services as a senior leader of the party and said that his absence would be irreparable. His son Prasad Babu said that the last rites of Palakonda Rayudu are likely to be performed on Thursday.
