On Monday, the Former Andhra Pradesh minister and Leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Devineni Nehru, 65, passed away after a severe cardiac arrest. Devineni was a major figure in Vijayawada politics and died at his house in Hyderabad.
Devineni Nehru, real name Devineni Rajasekhar, is survived by a son and a daughter. Nehru was discharged from hospital a few days ago, after being admitted for kidney related ailments. His Body will be shifted to Vijayawada for performing last rites.
Nehru for his followers, Devineni joined TDP in early 1982 under N.T.Rama Rao. He was elected from Kankipadu four times, 1983, 1985, 1989 and 1994. He also served as a minister in NTR’s cabinet from 1994 to 1996. Nehru was one of the few leaders who remained loyal to NTR when N.Chandrababu Naidu revolted against him. Nehru then later shifted to congress and faced defeat in 1999, 2009 and 2014. He won one assembly elections from Congress in 2004. In 2016, Nehru along with his son Avinash joined TDP again.
Nehru is also famous for his family’s’ longtime differences with Vangaveeti Ranga. When Ranga was killed in 1988, violence erupted in Vijayawada, Krishna district, and many neighboring districts. It was only after N.T. Rama Rao made Devineni surrender did the violence die. The disturbances led to the death of 40 people and billions of property loss. In 2002, the court acquitted Nehru along with 33 others in the murder case of Vangaveeti. These incidents were depicted in the recent release of RGV, “Vangaveeti”.
Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu expressed his condolences and called Nehru’s death a huge loss to the party.
