Senior BJP leader Pokkala Chalapathi Rao passes away

Visakhapatnam: Senior BJP leader Pokkala Venkata Chalapathi Rao breathed his last in a private hospital on Sunday. Popularly known as PV Chalapathi Rao, the senior party leader was suffering from health issues for a while. He was 87. Born in June 1935, Chalapathi Rao joined RSS in 1945 as Bala Swayam Sevak. When RSS was banned, he had played an active part in 1948 as a communication channel among the sangh workers.

During Rayalaseema drought in 1951, along with other swayam sevaks, he collected money and relief material from different parts of the state to help the drought affected Rayalaseema people. From 1950 to 1954 he started ABVP units in various colleges and universities in and around Visakhapatnam. On Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya call in 1953 to organise Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) activities in the district, he initiated various steps and was successful in getting four councillors elected to Anakapalli Municipality.

Chalapathi Rao was elected Member of Legislative Council (MLC) of Andhra Pradesh from the graduate constituency of North Sarkar District in 1974. In 1980, he was re-elected from the same constituency and held the office till AP Legislative Council was abolished in 1986.

He took up fast unto death for 14 days in 1978 for the workers' cause in BHPV of Visakhapatnam and created history by making the job permanent to more than 500 workers.

Chalapathi Rao was the State secretary for Loka Sangarshan Samithi during the emergency period and he organised underground activity for 19 months Currently, Chalapathi Rao's son PVN Madhav is an MLC from North Andhra graduates' constituency. Number of political leaders, including BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao and party state vice president P Vishnu Kumar Raju, recalled the contributions made by Chalapathi Rao and expressed grief over his demise.