Daughter turned away from Mudragada’s bier; State honours for last rites today
Tension prevailed at the residence of Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham (73), who died on Tuesday, after family members and supporters attempted to prevent his daughter
Tension prevailed at the residence of Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham (73), who died on Tuesday, after family members and supporters attempted to prevent his daughter, B. Kranthi, from paying her last respects at Kirlampudi in Kakinada district on Wednesday (July 15, 2026). The family members, including Mr. Padmanabham’s brother Suribabu, confronted Ms. Kranthi as she proceeded towards her father’s mortal remains. She was escorted by police personnel to have a glimpse of the body. Amid the tension and slogans against her presence, the police asked Ms. Kranthi to leave the spot and sent her back to her vehicle. B.
Kranthi, daughter of Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham, is escorted away by the police after family members objected to her paying homage to her father, at Kirlampudi in Kakinada district on Wednesday. Video: Special Arrangement pic.twitter.com/mh61CZumfn — The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) July 15, 2026 In the run-up to the 2024 general elections, Ms. Kranthi had opposed her father’s decision to join the YSR Congress Party. She campaigned for the Jana Sena Party when Mr. Padmanabham vowed to defeat Jana Sena Party president K. Pawan Kalyan in the Pithapuram Assembly constituency. During that campaign, Mr. Padmanabham had declared publicly that he would never see her face again.
State honours Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday morning announced that the last rites of Mr. Padmanabham would be performed with State honours at Kirlampudi. Leaders cutting across party lines are arriving at Kirlampudi to pay homage Veteran Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham passed away following a prolonged illness, at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday (July 14, 2026). He is survived by two sons and a daughter. He led Andhra Pradesh’s longest social movement, seeking Backward Class status for Kapus. He entered politics on the death of his father, two-time MLA Veera Raghava Rao, and won Prathipadu for the TDP in 1983, 1985 and 1989.
He was a Minister in N.T. Rama Rao’s Cabinet, later moved to the BJP and the Congress, and was Kakinada MP in 1999. His movement’s most explosive day came on January 31, 2016, when Kapu Garjana protesters set fire to the Ratnachal Express near Tuni. He quit the agitation in 2020. In March 2024 he joined the YSRCP and vowed to add ‘Reddy’ to his name if K. Pawan Kalyan won Pithapuram. Pawan Kalyan won, and he changed his name on June 20, 2024.
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