Mudragada Padmanabham, a Kapu leader and former Minister, predicted that Pawan Kalyan would lose in Pitahapuram. However, Pawan Kalyan ended up winning by a large margin. As a result, Mudragada changed his name to Padmanabha Reddy, as he had promised before the elections.
On March 15, 2024, Mudragada and his son Giri joined the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Later, at a public meeting, Mudragada challenged to change his name to Reddy by removing ‘Rao,’ which indicated his caste.
After the election results were announced on June 4, 2024, Mudragada held a press conference to confirm that he was beginning the process to change his name.
In a recent update, the Andhra Pradesh Government Gazette officially recognized Mudragada’s new name as Padmanabha Reddy. The Gazette, dated June 19, 2024, stated, “I Mudragada Padmanabham son of Veera Raghava Rao shall henceforth be known as Mudragada Padmanabha Reddy.”
