Former Cheriyal MLA Gorla Siddaiah Passes Away at 95 in Hyderabad

Former Cheriyal MLA Gorla Siddaiah passed away due to age-related sickness at his residence in Hyderabad on Sunday. The Congress (I) leader was 95 years old at the time of his death.

Siddaiah was born and brought up in Bairanpally village, situated in Dhoolmitta mandal. The village was widely recognized for taking on the Razakars during the historical Telangana armed rebellion, a conflict in which nearly 100 villagers were killed. Siddaiah was a direct witness to the attack on the village. He was 17 years old when the Razakars, who served as the private military of the Nizam, attacked Bairanpally on August 27, 1948.

During his political career, Siddaiah contested the 1978 Assembly elections on a Congress (I) ticket from the Cheriyal constituency. He won the election by defeating Nimma Raji Reddy with a margin of 7,056 votes. Siddaiah polled 18,547 votes, while Raji Reddy received 11,491 votes. In the 1983 Assembly elections, Siddaiah lost the seat to Raji Reddy by 7,819 votes. The Cheriyal constituency was later abolished in 2009 and merged with the neighbouring Janagaon constituency.

Siddaiah's wife, Shanthamma, died three years ago. Since her passing, Siddaiah had been staying in Hyderabad with his son, Bhaskar, who is a practicing advocate.

The funeral of Siddaiah will be performed in Hyderabad. Following his death, several Congress leaders, including constituency in-charge Kommuri Prathap Reddy, paid tributes to the former legislator.