Peddi Sudarshan Reddy (52), a senior BRS leader who was actively involved in the second phase of the Telangana movement and served as former MLA of Narsampet constituency, has passed away. He had been suffering from serious ill health for the past several days and was undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospital, Secunderabad, where doctors officially confirmed he breathed his last at 12:51 am on July 31. Prolonged efforts by doctors to save him proved unsuccessful. His untimely death has cast a deep shadow of grief over both the erstwhile Warangal district and Telangana state politics.
From a Farmer’s Son to the Legislature
Born into an agricultural family on August 6, 1974, in Nallabelli mandal headquarters of the erstwhile Warangal district, Sudarshan Reddy’s journey took him from humble beginnings all the way to the state legislature. He began his political career with the Congress party. In 2001, responding to KCR’s call, he joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS) and won as Nallabelli ZPTC member in the same year. He remained steadfastly by KCR’s side throughout the statehood movement, playing a key role despite facing police pressure, non-bailable cases, and imprisonment. After Telangana’s formation, he served as State Chairman of the Civil Supplies Corporation in 2015, and later won as MLA from Narsampet in the 2018 assembly elections, leaving his own mark in public service.
Over the past five years, Sudarshan Reddy drove the Narsampet constituency onto a path of rapid development. He secured hundreds of crores of rupees in funding from the Panchayat Raj, R&B, and ITDA departments to provide road connectivity to every village. He was instrumental in getting sanctioned a Telangana Diagnostics Centre (T-Hub), a 220-bed district general hospital, a government medical college, and a nursing college in Narsampet town, transforming the region’s healthcare landscape. As part of urban beautification efforts, he modernized the Pakala Auditorium, developed major junctions, and upgraded dividers and central lighting systems.
He placed the highest priority on farmer welfare. At a cost of Rs 336 crore, he diverted Godavari waters into the Ramappa-Pakala-Rangaya tanks, turning the Narsampet constituency lush and fertile. He constructed 13 check dams across all mandals to conserve water storage. Through the Marketing Department, he secured Rs 80 crore worth of godowns (5 metric tonnes each) across six mandals, along with six more godowns (15 MTs each) through the State Warehousing Corporation, to help farmers store their produce until they received remunerative prices. He also provided farmers with subsidized tractors, harvesters, and electric motors as part of agricultural mechanization.
KCR Shocked by the News
BRS chief and former Chief Minister KCR expressed deep shock over Peddi Sudarshan Reddy’s death, describing it as the loss of a movement comrade and close friend. Recalling memories of walking alongside him during the Telangana movement, KCR said he was deeply anguished that the tireless efforts made by the party and doctors to save Peddi had failed. He praised him as a valiant leader who had hoisted the pink flag on Narsampet soil, and called his political journey — conducted with integrity and honesty — exemplary. He noted that Peddi’s death, after a lifetime spent following the party’s path from the movement days until his final breath, was an irreparable loss to the party.
KCR urged Narsampet constituency leaders and workers to remain strong during this difficult time, and assured Peddi’s grieving family that the BRS party would stand by them always. He prayed for peace for Sudarshan Reddy’s soul and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to his family members and admirers. KCR remarked that Sudarshan Reddy’s services, courage, and the inspiration he provided would remain permanently etched in the hearts of the people and workers of the constituency — noting that he never once bowed down to police pressure, non-bailable cases, or imprisonment during the movement.
Lost an Eye and Suffered Injuries During the Movement
Peddi Sudarshan Reddy sacrificed his entire life for the cause of Telangana. During the movement, he was struck by police water cannons, which damaged his right eye — he subsequently lost vision in that eye. Even so, he never once distanced himself from the movement.
Married Only After Statehood Was Achieved
Sudarshan Reddy had resolved that he would neither marry nor pursue any personal life until Telangana became a separate state. True to his word, as soon as statehood was announced in 2014, he married a woman from a Dalit, underprivileged background, as he had earlier decided. His wedding was attended by then-Chief Minister KCR and his wife, along with a large number of BRS leaders. He later helped shape his wife, Swapna, into a leader in her own right, securing her election as ZPTC in Narsampet.