Mandava Venkateshwara Rao

Mandava Venkateshwara Rao is an Indian politician from the state of Telangana. He has won four terms as an MLA from Dichpally Assembly Constituency and once from Nizamabad Rural Assembly constituency in the united state of Andhra Pradesh and served as Minister of Excise Department, Education Department and Heavy Irrigation Department.

Career Rao entered politics through the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and successfully contested as a candidate in the 1985 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from Dichpalli Assembly constituency over his closest rival Indian National Congress candidate Antareddy Bal Reddy with a majority of 7726 votes.

Rao served as Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission in 1995 and Excise Minister in First N. Chandrababu Naidu ministry cabinet in 1997. He also served as the Minister of Heavy Irrigation in Second N. Chandrababu Naidu ministry for three years and in 2002 he held the charge of Education Minister.

Rao contested the 2004 elections on behalf of the TDP and was defeated by his nearest rival TRS candidate Gaddam Gangareddy. He contested as a TDP candidate in 2008 (by-election) and repeated the same result. He was re-reelected in the 2009 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from the Nizamabad Rural Assembly constituency.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao visited Rao's house in Hyderabad on 5 April 2019 and invited him to join the party. He joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party at Pragathi Bhavan on 6 April 2019.

Rao joined the Congress party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi at the Congress election campaign meeting at Bodhan on 25 November 2023.