Sarojini Pulla Reddy (1923-2013) was the second woman Mayor of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, veteran

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

leader and former minister of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Early life

Sarojini Pulla Reddy was born on 22 February 1923 to Konda Reddy and Anusuya Reddy in

Mahbubnagar Mahbubnagar, also informally called as Palamoor and formerly Rukmammapeta, is a city in Mahbubnagar District of the Indian state of Telangana named after the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahboob Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of Mahbubnagar m ...

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

(now

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

Career

Sarojini Pulla Reddy joined the Indian National Congress party in 1963 and in 1964 won a seat in the municipal elections. She was the second woman Mayor of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation from 1965 to 1966 and the immediate successor of Rani Janumpalli Kumudini Devi who is the first Mayor of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation from 1962 to 1964. She was elected to the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly ( Telugu: ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ శాసన సభ, ISO: ''Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Sabha'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. ...

twice from Malakpet constituency, in 1967 and 1972, but lost in 1978 by a narrow margin of 1,000 votes. She became the first chairperson of

Hyderabad Urban Development Authority The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was created in 1975, vide an act of the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly, State Assembly of Andhra Pradesh. History Its jurisdiction was expanded in 2008 by merging it with the surrounding mandal ...

in 1975. She was nominated to the Legislative Council and inducted into the cabinet by then chief minister

Marri Chenna Reddy Marri Chenna Reddy (13 January 1919 – 2 December 1996) was an Indian politician active in several states. He was the 6th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1978 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1990. He also served as the governor of Uttar Prades ...

in 1979. Reddy served as Municipal Administration minister, Information and Public Relations and Women and Child Welfare ministries between 1978–82 in the cabinets of

Tanguturi Anjaiah Tanguturi Anjaiah (1919–1986), popularly known as T. Anjaiah, was an Indian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from October 1980 to February 1982. He won from Ramayampet Assembly Constituency. Background Tangu ...

Bhavanam Venkatarami Reddy Bhavanam Venkatrami Reddy (18 July 1931 – 7 April 2002) was the chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh from February–September 1982. He was a member of the Congress party and served as cabinet minister in various AP governmen ...

and

Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy (16 August 1920 – 27 September 2001) served as the 9th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 1983 and then from 1992 to 1994. Reddy was a member of the Indian National Congress and was elected ...

. Reddy was the first woman to be president of the Hyderabad Congress Committee. She had a stint as a general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee during

Jalagam Vengala Rao Jalagam Vengala Rao (May 1921 – 12 June 1999) was for much of his life a member of the Indian National Congress and was the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh which is now divided into two states, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ...

's stewardship. Later on, she was vice-president of the APCC under successive PCC chiefs. She was a member of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy-making body of the party in 2001.

Personal life

Reddy married Dr. Pulla Reddy Bolumpalli in 1945. The couple had a son. She died on February 3, 2013, at her Bowenpally residence due to

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. She was cremated with state honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, Sarojini Pulla 1923 births 2013 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh People from Mahbubnagar Women members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly 20th-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians 20th-century mayors of places in India Mayors of Hyderabad, India Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1967–1972 Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1972–1978 Women mayors of places in Telangana