Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao[1] (born 23 March 1968) is an Indian politician from Telangana state and a member of parliament representing from Medak Lok Sabha constituency. Previously he served as an MLA for Dubbak Assembly constituency. He is a strong supporter of Telangana state ideology. He is a lawyer by profession. He hails from Medak district.

Raghunandan Rao
Member of parliament, Loksabha
Assumed office
04 June 2024
Preceded byKotha Prabhakar Reddy
ConstituencyMedak
Member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly
In office
10 November 2020 – 03 December 2023
Preceded bySolipeta Ramalinga Reddy
Succeeded byKotha Prabhakar Reddy
ConstituencyDubbak
Personal details
Born (1968-03-23) March 23, 1968 (age 56)
Siddipet, Telangana, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Other political
affiliations
BRS, Congress
SpouseManjula Devi ( m. 1991 )
Children1
Residence(s)Patancheru, Telangana
NicknameRagu Anna

Early life and education

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Rao was born at Siddipet to M. Bhagavantha Rao in Velama caste. He earned a B.Sc. degree at Siddipet Degree College, completed a L.L.B. degree at Osmania University, Hyderabad, a B.Ed. degree from Karnataka University, and a post-graduate diploma in human rights from Central University of Hyderabad.[2]

After completing his education, Rao relocated from Siddipet to Patancheru, an industrial area, in 1991 and joined a reputed Telugu daily newspaper Eenadu as a news contributor for five years. He subsequently, enrolled as an advocate in the bar association of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.[3]

Professional career

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He started his career as a lawyer. He is well known for handling Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's bail petition.[4]

Political career

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Rao started his political career as a Telangana Rashtra Samithi member.[5] He was with Telangana Rashtra Samithi from 27 April 2001. He is the politburo member and Medak district convenor.[6] On 14 May 2013 he was suspended from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party[4] on allegations of meeting with Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu which he actively denied.[7] Subsequently, he joined in Congress But resigned to party within few days and joined BJP then contested the Legislative Assembly elections from Dubbak constituency of Telangana state in the year 2014. He is state party secretary and MLA of Bharatiya Janata Party in Telangana.[8] Currently he is Member of Legislative Assembly in Telangana Dubbak in 2020 by-poll election by a margin of 1,074 votes, after death of Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy.[9][10]

Raghunandan Rao In 2023 Assembly elections contested from Dubbak Assembly segment and lost to BRS Candidate Kotha Prabhakar Reddy by a margin of 53,513 votes.[11] His Contested in 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Medak and won with a majority of 39139 votes on his nearest opponent from Congress Party Neelam Madhu.[12]

Allegations

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The police said, a 47-year-old woman made a complaint in February 2020 claiming that she was raped in 2007 by advocate M Raghunandan Rao, following which a rape case was filed against him.[13] She claimed the advocate called her to his Patancheru office in 2007 and offered coffee mixed with some substances and "raped" her when she became unconscious while she filed a harassment case against her husband and maintenance case through Advocate Rao. The police said, the woman claimed in the complaint that the advocate had threatened to post photos taken in compromising positions on Social networks.[14][15] Rao has called the allegations false.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ "Dubbak BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao profile". The Hans India.
  2. ^ Reddy, Istamvayla (11 November 2020). "M Raghunandan Rao: From TRS politburo member to Dubbak's BJP MLA". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020. Alt URL
  3. ^ "BJP Member, "Raghunandan Rao"". www.tbjp.in. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Suspended leader hits back at TRS leadership - The New Indian Express". newindianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Harish Rao elected union president - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu". thehindu.com. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Archive News". The Hindu. 13 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ "YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Raghunandan Rao Madhavaneni". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Dubbaka Election Results 2020: BJP's M Raghunandan Rao leads TRS' Solipeta Sujatha by 1,470". The Times of India. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020. Alt URL
  10. ^ "M Raghunandan Rao: From TRS politburo member to Dubbak's BJP MLA". Deccan Chronicle. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  11. ^ Election Commission of India (2023). "2023 Assembly Results - Dubbaka". Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  12. ^ Election Commission of India (4 June 2024). "2024 Loksabha Elections Results - Medak". Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Telangana police book BJP leader for alleged rape and blackmail". The News Minute. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Rape case filed against BJP leader in Telangana". Deccan Herald. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Rape case filed against BJP leader in Telangana". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Telangana: Rape case filed against BJP leader - Hyderabad News". The Times of India. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Rape case filed against BJP leader Raghunandan Rao in Telangana". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 September 2020.