Former A.P (undivided) Congress president D. Srinivas passes

On Saturday, June 29, 2024 at the early hours of the day, senior Congress leader and former Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Dharmapuri Srinivas died after he suffered a heart attack.

He had been ill for some time and was aged 76. He is survived by his wife and two sons; Dharmapuri Sanjay who was the former Nizamabad Mayor, as well as Dharmapuri Arvind who has been a two-time MP from Nizamabad constituency.

The dead body of this veteran politician has been kept at his residence in MLA Colony for other party leaders to offer condolences. This evening, it will be taken to Pragatinagar in Nizamabad. His last rituals will take place in Nizamabad on Sunday morning.

Born on September 27, 1948, Mr.Srinivas began his political career as a member of Youth Congress and eventually became an MLA, Minister and PCC chief twice over.

An alumnus of the prestigious Nizam College in Hyderabad, Mr. Srinivas first entered the AP Legislative Assembly after winning from the Nizamabad seat in 1989 as an active Minister. After following his uncle and close relative Argul Rajaram who also served as Finance Minister during that period..the senior Congress leader had worked hard for himself.

Although he lost out during the 1994 elections but won again during both 1999 and 2004 whereupon he secured a Cabinet berth under YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Government which was formed in 2004. The Congress party didn’t return to power until Dr.Rajasekhara Reddy became its Chief Minister between 2004-2009 during which Srinivas held two tenures as its PCC chief.

In fact, right after their victory over TDP in the assembly polls held then Dr.Rajasekhara Reddy and the senior leader himself had expressed their desire to be considered for the post of Chief Minister. Instead, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy was chosen by the party since he had been instrumental in bringing them back to power through his famous padayatra.

Had cordial ties with CMs

Despite being one of the towering personalities in Congress, this senior leader carved a niche for himself in the party. He belonged to the powerful Munnuru Kapu backward class community who emerged as a power centre. His political acumen was evident from his good relationships with his predecessors – Marri Channa Reddy, N. Janardhan Reddy, Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy and other senior leaders.

Surprisingly, Srinivas’ appointment as APCC president in 2003 also came as a surprise to Rajasekhara Reddy who was then CLP leader. In 2008 once again he was retained as state party unit chief for the second time when actor K.Chiranjeevi floated Praja Rajyam Party at that time. He is remembered for insisting on poll alliance with TRS during 2004 polls.

After being defeated in the 2009 Assembly elections, Mr.Srinivas became an MLC but later went on to quit Congress party unexpectedly in 2015 joining Bharat Rashtra Samiti (then TRS). The then BRS Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhara Rao’s personal invitation was given to him before he joined BJP. He has rewarded by becoming Rajya Sabha membership holder since 2016 till date. He did not stay long as part of BRS due to serious differences with local leadership including K.Kavitha who was Nizamabad MP and several other BRS MLAs called for action against him which led to his suspension from party on allegations of anti-party activities

Mr. Srinivas had to lie low for a while and now he was always falling sick making him stay at home. He came back to the Congress after two years, saying that it really felt like coming home then.

Late leader D Srinivas shared great relations with Congress’s top brass including former President Pranab Mukherjee as he served as a close aide of ex-AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy condoles death

The untimely death of Mr. Srinivas touched the hearts of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other leaders from the Congress party. As PCC President, the Chief Minister recalled how much DS played an important role in serving the Party faithfully over many years.

CM Revanth Reddy prayed for the eternal rest of D Srinivas who rose from being a mere congress worker to become an icon for many politicians. In his long political career within congress party, he also created a niche for himself during Telangana movement. The CM also mourned with those who lost their loved one.

Union Minister G.Kishan Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Minster N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and former MP V. Hanumantha Rao condoled his death too.He is known as a trusted lieutenant of Sonia Gandhi, late leader who has served under some cordial relationships between her and Congress’ top leadership especially former president Pranab Mukherjee