Nomula Narsimhaiah, TRS legislator from Nagarjunasagar in Nalgonda, was cremated with full State honours at his birthplace here on Thursday.
Nomula Bhagat Kumar, his son and the chief mourner, lit the pyre arranged on their agriculture land amid the presence of family, colleagues, and thousands of villagers and supporters.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who arrived here in a helicopter, led the district and State leaders, to mourn Mr. Narsimhaiah’s death and condoled the bereaved family members.
The 64-year-old leader passed away due to illness on Tuesday morning. His mortal remains were preserved at Kamineni Hospitals, Narketpally, till some of his family members living abroad arrived here on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, the funeral procession of Mr. Narsimhaiah began at around 9 a.m. at Nakrekal, the headquarters from where he served as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Mandal Parishad president for 12 years and as a two-time legislator till 2009.
The funeral van passed through the single-track Musi Road crossing Nomula and Palem villages, with the family and local leaders on foot, till the agricultural land on the outskirts.
A series of pink flex banners, erected by party activists and Yadava community leaders, marked the route. However, there weren’t any visible signs of the CPI (M).
After a two-and-half-hour procession, joined by thousands of mourners on the way, Mr. Narsimhaiah’s bier was carried for the rituals.
At around 11.40 a.m., Mr. KCR along with ministers Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Vemula Prashanth Reddy arrived at the site. Legislative Council Chairman Gutha Sukender Reddy, his deputy Nethi Vidyasagar, Energy Minister G. Jagadish Reddy and other legislators coordinated the funeral arrangements with District Collector Prashant J. Patil and SP A.V. Ranganath.
Mr. KCR placed a wreath on Mr. Narsimhaiah’s body, wrapped in tri-colour, and condoled the bereaved wife Somalakshmi, daughters Jhansi and Aruna Jyothi and son Bhagat Kumar.
The police band then played ‘The Last Post’, fired the three-volley rifle salute and observed two minutes’ silence, and at around 12.30 p.m., amid shouts of ‘Narsimhaiah Amar rahe, Johar Narsimhaiah’, the mortal remains were consigned to flames.
Mr. KCR took off around 12.40 p.m.