From Sarpanch to Minister, Chandulal enjoyed much clout among his community in Warangal

Warangal: Tribal leader Azmeera Chandulal, who breathed his last at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday late night, enjoyed much clout among the masses particularly among his community people in the erstwhile Warangal district.

Born on August 17, 1954, at Jaggannapet village in Mulugu mandal of the erstwhile Warangal district, Chandulal chose the path of democratic politics to serve the people though there was ‘much influence’ of the Naxalism in the Mulugu and other Agency areas in the district. He was elected as the Sarpanch for his native village in 1981 and served till 1985.

He joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) floated by the film star NT Rama Rao and won the Mulugu Assembly (ST) constituency and served as the Minister for Tribal Welfare in the NTR’s Cabinet for four years. He secured the MLA seat in 1994 for the second time. His victory over Congress senior leader and big landlord Ramsayhayam Surender in 1996 from the erstwhile Warangal Lok Sabha constituency was a sensation at that time. In the midterm polls, Chandual retained the post by winning against Dr T Kalpana Devi of Congress. However, political observers say that Chandual could win the Warangal MP seats twice owing to the support of his community voters who were in large numbers.

Meanwhile, Chandulal joined the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) in 2005 and secured the Mulugu MLA seat for the third time in 2014 polls, and served as the Tribal, Cultural and Youth Affairs Minister in the K Chandrashekhar Rao’s government.

This Lambada community leader held several positions in the TDP as well as in the TRS. He married Sharada and the couple has one daughter and three sons. Two of his sons Dr Prahlad and Dharam Singh were active in politics till recently. Chandulal (66), who underwent surgery for kidney transplantation several years ago, had been suffering from several health issues and passed away while undergoing treatment.

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