Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, a two-time MLA from Kothagudem and the state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), has had an interesting journey. He began his career as a journalist for Visalaandhra Telugu daily, which was linked to the CPI. He then joined the party as a worker and participated in party activities in Kothagudem.
In 1984, he was elected as the secretary of the CPI and in 1987, he became an MPP. Later, in 2005, he was appointed as the Khammam district party secretary. In 2009, he successfully ran for the MLA seat in Kothagudem. After his term, he was appointed as the state assistant secretary of the party.
Known affectionately as ‘Pedala Pashupathi’ and with a strong following in the district, Rao won re-election as an MLA in the recent assembly elections with support from the Congress party.
