Twenty years ago, on 1 December 2005, Magunta Subbarama Reddy, the 48-year-old Congress MP from Ongole, was assassinated near Chirala while campaigning for local body elections. The brutal attack, which also claimed his gunman’s life, shocked Andhra Pradesh and robbed Prakasam district of one of its most unifying figures. Born in 1947 in Nellore to a family of modest means, Reddy had risen from local business to national prominence, representing the region with a rare blend of pragmatism and generosity. On the eve of his 30th death anniversary, his memory endures not as a martyr’s statue but as a living standard of public service.
Reddy treated politics as an extension of family. As the elder who took care of all his family members and supporters as equals, he built a unique supporter base in Ongole and across Prakasam district that has walked with the Reddys for decades. That trust was not bought; it was earned through decades of personal attention and quiet help. His political legacy continues through his younger brother Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, a four-time MP, and his son Raghav Reddy, a young and dynamic leader aspiring to live up to his father and uncle’s ideals. The Reddy family’s enduring loyalty from voters speaks volumes about the nature of trust they built among people—one rooted in accessibility and equality rather than patronage.
His business acumen was equally distinctive. Starting from liquor trading, Reddy expanded into multiple ventures—construction, education, and media—with an instinct for opportunity and responsibility. He acquired the struggling Udayam newspaper in the early 1990s, turning it into a voice for rural Andhra before prohibition forced its closure. Undeterred, he began plans to revive the historic Andhra Patrika, dreaming of a platform that would educate and empower ordinary readers. That media vision reflected his belief that information, like water, must reach every household.
Perhaps his finest hour came in 1993, when he single-handedly funded the Congress’s AICC plenary in Tirupati at a personal cost of Rs 5 crore. With the party cash-strapped after PV Narasimha Rao’s era, Reddy mobilised resources to host 5,000 delegates, ensuring the event became a triumph of unity rather than embarrassment. Sonia Gandhi’s presence owed much to his generosity—a gesture he never advertised. This act of selflessness mirrored his cross-party warmth: he dined with N T Rama Rao, mediated with Chandrababu Naidu when needed, and earned respect from rivals who recognised in him a leader who served without enmity.
The Magunta Legacy Trust, founded by his family after his death, remains the clearest expression of his philosophy. Water tankers bearing the Magunta name are still a core memory in every Prakasam household—silent reminders that welfare need not wait for government schemes. Scholarships for thousands, hospitals in remote mandals, irrigation canals that turned parched fields green: these were extensions of a man who believed wealth must serve the soil that produced it. His widow Magunta Parvatamma won the Ongole seat in 1996; his brother and nephew later carried the flag. Yet the trust, not the electoral wins, is what people speak of when they remember him.
