Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Lok Sabha MP from Adilabad constituency of Telangana, Ramesh Rathod, passed away on Saturday at the age of 57 due to multi-organ failure. Rathod fell ill and was treated at a hospital in Delhi, returning home to Adilabad only two days ago, according to family sources.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy, Union MoS (Home) Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders condoled the death of Ramesh Rathod. His funeral would take place on Sunday.
Ramesh Rathod had left an indelible mark on politics, Revanth Reddy said. Expressing grief over the demise of Rathod, G Kishan Reddy said the departed leader had worked for the BJP's victory in the Telangana Assembly elections last year and the recent Lok Sabha polls.
"I express shock over the death of former Adilabad MP and senior BJP leader Ramesh Rathore... He worked very enthusiastically for the party in the previous Assembly and Parliament elections. During the Telangana movement, he played a key role in a united Adilabad district... My deepest condolences to the family members," said the Telangana BJP President on Rathod's passing on Saturday.
Chandrababu Naidu recalled Ramesh Rathod's association with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and said he had served people as Lok Sabha member, MLA and Chairperson of Zilla Parishad. Rathod, who was with the TDP, later worked with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress before joining the BJP.
He contested on a BJP ticket from the Kanapur Assembly constituency during the Assembly elections in Telangana in 2023 but stood in third place, garnering only 52,398 votes. He faced BRS candidate Bhukya Johnson Rathod Naik and Vedma Bhojju of Congress in the constituency. He was denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the Lok Sabha elections this year.
In the 1999 Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls, Rathod won the Khanapur seat as a TDP nominee by defeating Congress candidate L Bakshi Naik with a margin of over 20,000 votes. However, he couldn't retain his constituency in 2004 and was defeated by TRS candidate Ajmeera Govind Naik.
In 2009, Rathod won the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat by defeating Congress candidate Kotnak Ramesh while his wife Suman Rathod won the Khanapur Assembly seat. He lost the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election and stood third from Adilabad after TRS leader Godam Nagesh and Dr Naresh Jadhav of Congress. Rathod again lost the Khanapur Assembly constituency in 2018 as a Congress candidate.
(with PTI inputs)
