Know Your MLA: Persevering amidst obstacles

Khammam: Tummala Nageswara Rao is one of the well-known politicians whose career spans more than four decades. He has recently been elected as MLA of Khammam.

His long political career has seen him serve in ministerial positions under both the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and TRS (now BRS) parties. Born on November 15, 1953, Tummala began his political journey with the TDP in 1982. His political roots lie in the Sattupalli constituency, from where he contested his first election in 1983, though he was defeated. However, his perseverance paid off when he won the by- election held within a year and a half, leading to his first ministerial appointment under then Chief Minister NT Rama Rao.

Nageswara Rao's political career has been one of both triumphs and setbacks. He successfully retained his Assembly seat in 1985, 1994, 1999, and 2009 on the TDP ticket. In 2014, he switched allegiance to the TRS, winning the Paleru by-election but losing the subsequent 2018 elections.

In September 2023, Nageswara Rao resigned from the BRS and joined the Congress and contested in the Assembly elections in December 2023. He won with a majority of over 50,000 from Khammam Assembly Constituency. He is serving as Agriculture Minister in Revanth Reddy’s cabinet. His target is irrigating the erstwhile Khammam district by Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project which is 90 per cent completed and about to be launched in August by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Under his tenure as a minister in BRS regime, he built the Bhakta Ramdas mini irrigation project for Palair assembly constituency.