It is an engineering graduate and not a doctor who is the Health Minister of Telangana. Senior Congress politician Damodar Rajanarasimha Cilarapu has assumed the role of Health Minister in the third Telangana Legislative Assembly, following the allocation of the Health, Medical and Family Welfare, and Science and Technology portfolios by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday. There has been a chorus of demand to give the health portfolio to one of the 15 elected MLAs who were doctors.
Also read: Full list of Telangana cabinet and council of ministers
Mr. Rajanarasimha embarked on his political journey in 1989, securing a seat as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Andole constituency under the banner of the Indian National Congress (INC). Although facing electoral setbacks, he emerged victorious in 2004 and 2009.
He became a member of then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s cabinet in 2004, assuming the role of Minister for Primary Education. Subsequently, in 2009, he was entrusted with the position of Minister for Marketing and Warehousing. Mr. Rajanarsimha’s political ascent continued as he took on the role of Deputy Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh on June 10, 2011, serving until April 2014.
In the recent 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, he clinched victory in the Andole constituency with a substantial margin of 28,193 votes, securing a total of 1,14,147 votes (53.65%) in the constituency.
Mr. Rajanarasimha holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Osmania University’s College of Engineering, earned in 1982.
