Thummala Nageswara Rao

Thummala Nageswara Rao is an Indian Congress politician who has been a minister in the Government of Andhra Pradesh and, later, now in the Government of Telangana. Rao is from Khammam district.

Early life Rao, born on 15 November 1953, is from the village of Gollagudem, Dammapeta mandal, in Khammam district.

Career Rao joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the 1982 election, but lost the 1983 election. He was elected three times to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh as a TDP candidate from Sathupalli constituency: in 1985, 1994 and 1999.

Although he is from Sathupalli, due to changes in the reservation of seats in constituencies he won the 2009 election from the Khammam constituency. Rao again contested the seat in 2014, losing by about 6,000 votes; that election was for the Telangana Legislative Assembly, due to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

He joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in September 2014, and was inducted into the cabinet in December as Minister for Roads and Buildings. Rao resigned from the BRS and joined the Indian National Congress in September 2023 after he was denied a BRS ticket for elections. After serving as a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, Rao again gained an assembly seat in May 2016 when he won the Palair constituency in a by-election by a decisive margin as a BRS candidate.

In the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election, he defeated BRS candidate Puvvada Ajay Kumar in the Khammam constituency. Rao took the oath as minister at L. B. Stadium in Hyderabad on 7 December 2024, and was assigned the Agriculture, Marketing, Co-operation, Handlooms and Textiles portfolios two days later in the Revanth Reddy ministry.

Work with four chief ministers Rao brought funds to Khammam district and worked for its development. He first became a member of Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao's cabinet as Minister of Small Irrigation, and was reappointed in 1995. Rao became Minister of Prohibition and Excise in CM Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet on 20 August 1996, and was appointed Union Minister of Heavy and Medium Irrigation on 5 December of that year. Excise Minister in 1999, he was appointed Minister of Roads and Buildings in 2001. Rao became president of the Telugu Desam Party of Khammam district on 15 November 2004.

He joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on 5 September 2014, and became Minister of Roads, Buildings and Women and Child Welfare on 16 December of that year. In 2015, Rao was selected as an MLC. In 2016, he was elected as an MLA and continued as a minister.

+ Khammam projects Nr. Department Number Cost (crore) 1 R&B 24 126.82 Outer Ring Road 209 2 PR 113 17 3 Irrigation MK I - 19 23 MKII- 14 4 MKIII- 09 2.2 MTB 01 13.5 42.7 4 Water grid R. N. Palem 88.5 Corporation 114 Intra (46) 32 234.5 5 Transco 5 10 6 IDC 2 24 7 EW IDC College building 13.5 ST&SC&BC 6.5 20 8 RVM 32 2.1 9 Corporation Completed 152 Proposed 100 252 10 NSP 1 24.75 11 HMIDC Double bedrooms 5,000 26.25 Total 5,220 979.62

Bhakta Ramadasu, Sitarama projects, modernization of Paleru Old Canal Cultivation and drinking water due to the construction of check dams in Paleru Development of a joint Khammam district with construction of national highways and bridges Construction of a palm oil factory at Apparao Peta Construction of the Betupalli Varada and NTR Canals Modernization of Bakaram Pond Construction of the Bhadradri Power Plant