Ex-CPI General Secretary Sudhakar Reddy Inherited and Continued a Legacy as a Leader of Movements

Hyderabad: In the death of former Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy (83) here on August 22, the party has lost a leader who was key in remoulding its ideological stand opposing statehood for Telangana.

Like the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the CPI too was unyielding on its demand for ‘Visalandhra’ (larger Andhra Pradesh) during the struggle for statehood for Telangana prior to 2014, when Andhra Pradesh was finally bifurcated. Sudhakar Reddy was then deputy general secretary of the CPI.

It was he who led a wider debate within the CPI favouring a separate Telangana, which later found favour with the party leadership. And ultimately, the CPI joined the league of parties that supported a separate Telangana, even as the CPI(M) has remained the sole flagbearer of a united Andhra Pradesh till date.

What set Sudhakar Reddy apart from other leaders in CPI was that he continued the legacy of his uncle Suravaram Pratap Reddy as a leader of movements, one of which was part of the armed struggle in Telangana against the tyranny of Nizam rule.

Pratap Reddy, known as ‘Telangana vaithalikudu’ (torchbearer), was the elder brother of Sudhakar Reddy's father Venkatram Reddy, who was himself CPI secretary for the Mahbubnagar and Raichur districts in the erstwhile Hyderabad state and went underground during Nizam rule.

As founder of the Golconda newspaper, Pratap Reddy's initiative was seen as a daring act against the Nizam's zero tolerance to freedom for citizens. He was also an icon as a historian and researcher.

Sudhakar Reddy imbibed Pratap Reddy's qualities while living with another uncle, Ramachandra Reddy, in the absence of his father at a young age.

The revolutionary literature that Pratap Reddy collected influenced Sudhakar Reddy's upbringing to the extent of cultivating a bent for struggle in the young boy.

CPI general secretary D. Raja leads Sudhakar Reddy's funeral procession in Hyderabad on August 24. To his right is chairman of the Telangana Media Academy, K. Srinivas Reddy. Photo by arrangement.

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At the age of 12, he mobilised other children in a struggle for blackboards and chalk pieces at a school where he studied in Kurnool. Soon, the struggle spread to other schools in the town.

He was born in Kondravupalli village on March 25, 1942, though his parents hailed from Kanchipadu village in what is today the Undavelli mandal in Telangana's Mahbubnagar district. After his early education in the village, he shifted to Kurnool, where he completed his degree in 1961 and joined the Sri Venkateswara University for post-graduation education the following year.

He was president of the town and district units of the All India Students Federation (AISF), the student wing of the CPI, during his time in Kurnool.

Leading a 62-day struggle demanding examination reforms in the university, he went to jail, which boosted his image and resulted in his election as president of the college students' union with a big majority.

He relocated to Hyderabad to pursue a law degree in Osmania University, where he was elected general secretary of the students' union. He went on to pursue a post-graduation in law from the same university.

In the early '70s, he also became national general secretary and president of the AISF, which gave him wider exposure to students' issues.

Joining the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), the youth body of the CPI, he became its national general secretary. He led a struggle in the streets of Delhi demanding adult franchise for youth aged 18-20 during his stint in the AIYF. He was credited with working closely with then-AIYF president C.K. Chandrappan, who was elected as an MP from Kerala shortly afterwards.

At the call of the CPI, he joined the party and steadily rose to become a member of its national council. He functioned in that capacity in New Delhi for three years. Later, he shifted to Andhra Pradesh, where he contested three assembly elections in 1985, 1989 and 1994 on the party's ticket, but lost all of them.

Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy with CPI general secretary D. Raja and other leaders during a ceremony to pay respects to Sudhakar Reddy, on August 24, 2025. Photo: PTI.

In his third election, he contested against then-chief minister K. Vijayabhaskar Reddy of the Congress at Dhone in Kurnool district.

Dhone was notorious for factional violence and Vijayabhaskar Reddy and Rajasekhara Reddy's camps were at odds at that time.

Sudhakar Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nalgonda in 1998, when he was chosen as the CPI's state secretary. He won again from the same constituency in 2004. On the second occasion, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS, now the Bharat Rashtra Samithi) fielded a candidate against him in defiance of an electoral understanding between the Congress, TRS and Left parties against the ruling Telugu Desam Party.

He led the infamous anti-power tariff agitation during the chief ministership of N. Chandrababu Naidu, which claimed the lives of three persons in a police firing incident in Hyderabad in 2008. He escaped bullets whizzing past him as a violent crowd rained stones and missiles at the police.

Sudhakar Reddy was elected general secretary at the party's congress at Patna in 2012 and was re-elected twice after that. However, he stepped down due to ailing health in 2019, when D. Raja took over the party's reins. He was the second person from the Telugu-speaking states to don the role of CPI general secretary after Chandra Rajeswara Rao.

During his last days, he was on an oxygen concentrator and confined to a wheelchair. He passed away just as he was about to conclude writing his autobiography. His family is now in a dilemma on how to give it a finishing touch.

After he passed away in a hospital, his mortal remains were donated to a medical college. Chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Revanth Reddy and Naidu were among a host of leaders who paid tributes at the party's office ahead of a funeral procession to the medical college.

Sudhakar Reddy travelled widely, covering nearly 40 countries. Some of the world leaders he met include Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat. After his passing, the ambassadors of China and Vietnam signed the condolence book kept at the party headquarters in Delhi.

CPI workers pay tribute to Sudhakar Reddy in Hanamkonda town. Photo by arrangement.

A close associate of Sudhakar Reddy and chairman of the Telangana Media Academy, K. Srinivas Reddy, told The Wire that he had addressed the United Nations General Assembly as part of an Indian delegation.

A former MP of the CPI, Azeez Pasha, said the party had improved its membership under the leadership of Sudhakar Reddy, whom he recalled as being always helpful.

Fighting tears in his eyes, B. Sriramulu, the office-incharge at Makhdoom Bhavan, the party office of the CPI in Hyderabad, said he was given the job by Sudhakar Reddy as a poor teenager from Kanchipadu, the native village of the CPI doyen. Aged 60 now, Sriramulu said felt lost.

He recalled that Sudhakar Reddy was against anyone calling him ‘sir’. Therefore, he addressed him as ‘anna’ (elder brother) despite the status barrier. He added that Sudhakar Reddy led a simple life dedicated to party service. He travelled on a scooter as state secretary.

Sudhakar Reddy also performed the wedding of his two sons, Nikhil and Kapil, on the same day in the conventional ‘stage marriages’ practiced by the party. Chandrababu Naidu was among the guests.

With Sudhakar Reddy's blessings, Sriramulu said his son was now working as a doctor in Chile after completing his MBBS in Cuba. His daughter is practicing as a lawyer in Hyderabad.

There were several people who were extended medical, employment and educational benefits on his recommendations. From jobs to a railway station for pilgrims to the Alampur Jogulamba temple, Sudhakar Reddy's initiatives won the hearts of those who went to him for help.

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