D. Srinivas (politician)

Dharmapuri Srinivas was an Indian politician from Telangana. He was a four-time legislator, serving three terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and one term as a Member of the Legislative Council. He also served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha and twice as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, in 2004 and 2009.

Early life

Srinivas was born on 27 September 1948 in Velpur, Nizamabad District, Andhra Pradesh, to Dharmapuri Venkatram and Dharmapuri Laxmibai. His father was a former District President of Jan Sangh. Srinivas completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nizam College, Hyderabad and LL.B. from Osmania University, Hyderabad

Political career

Srinivas joined Indian National Congress as a youth leader and worked for Youth Congress. He became an MLA for the first time winning the 1989 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. He regained the Nizamabad seat in 1999 and won for the third time in 2004, in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state. He served as Minister for Higher Education and Intermediate Education in Y. S. Rajashekhar Reddy's Ministry from 2004 to 2009. He also served with different portfolios in the cabinets of chief ministers Marri Chenna Reddy, Nedurumilli Janardhan Reddy and Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy.
He was the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president during the 2004 and 2009 assembly and general elections. He was a nephew of former finance minister Argul Rajaram of A.P. State. He lost the elections in 2009, 2010, and 2012 to the Bharatiya Janata Party and in 2014 to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi Party.
He was elected as a Member of the State Legislative Council in 2011 and elected leader of the party in the Telangana Legislative Council. In the 2014 elections, he contested from Nizamabad rural assembly constituency but lost to Telangana Rashtra Samithi candidate Bajireddy Goverdhan.
On 2 July 2015, he resigned from the Congress Party and joined BRS. He was a Rajya Sabha Member from 2016 to 2022, and later rejoined the Congress Party.

Personal life and death

DS married Vijayalaxmi. The couple had two sons: Sanjay Dharmapuri, a former Mayor of Nizamabad, and Dharmapuri Arvind, a two-time sitting Member of Parliament from Nizamabad from Bharatiya Janata Party.
After suffering from illness for some time, Srinivas died from a heart attack in Hyderabad, on 29 June 2024, at the age of 75.

Cabinet roles

Srinivas served in various ministerial positions under multiple Andhra Pradesh chief ministers, including Marri Chenna Reddy, N. Janardhana Reddy, Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, and Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. His ministerial portfolios included:

Year	Portfolio	Notes
1989–1990	Minister for Excise, Sports, and Backward Classes Welfare	Also served as in-charge minister for Home and Law & Order, playing a key role in controlling the 1990 Hyderabad riots.
1991	Minister for Self-Employment and Sericulture	Focused on skill development and employment generation.
1992	Minister for Rural Development, Rural Water Supply, Sericulture, Handlooms, and Textiles	Oversaw major initiatives in rural infrastructure and textile industry.
1993	Minister for Information and Public Relations, Cinematography, and Film Development Corporation	Promoted the state's film industry and media outreach.
2004–2007	Minister for Rural Development, Rural Water Supply, Employment Generation, BC Welfare, and Urban Land Ceiling	Led welfare programs aimed at backward communities and urban reforms.
2007–2008	Minister for Higher Education and Intermediate Education	Worked towards education system reforms in Andhra Pradesh.

D. Srinivas served as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee during the 2004 and 2009 elections, leading the Indian National Congress to major victories:

Year	Election Type	Congress Seats Won	UPA Seats Won
2004	Lok Sabha	29	34
2009	Lok Sabha	33	N/A