Mallu Vikramarka Bhatti, the deputy chief minister of Telangana, is a senior Congress leader from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community known for his connect to the people. He has, time and again, championed the cause of farmers and Dalit in the state. Coming from an agricultural family, Bhatti is deeply aware of the issues of farmers. He represents Madhira in Khammam district as an MLA, and has won the seat four times from 2009 to 2023.
In June this year, he completed 1,000 km of Padhyatra called ‘People’s March’ from Adilabad to Devarakonda. At the peak of summer, he covered 30 constituencies and 500 villages. He interacted with lakhs of people on the ground and exposed the weaknesses of the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. It is said during the Padhyatra, he was able to convince the people from the marginalised sections to vote for the Congress in the just concluded assembly elections.
Political Life
Bhatti was active in politics since he was a student, and stepped into the mainstream after becoming Pradesh Congress Committee executive member in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He became an MLA from Madhira for the first time in 2009. He became the Chief Whip in the same year. He was elected as Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2011. He was known as one of the trusted lieutenants of the late chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He won Madhira as an MLA again in 2014, 2018 and 2023.
In 2019, Rahul Gandhi appointed him as the leader of Congress Legislature Party.
Personal Life
He was born in a remote village of Snanala Laxmipuram in Wyra Mandal of Khammam district. There was a provision to study only up to Class 5 in his village, and after that, he used to travel 7 km every day to reach his school. These difficulties made him aware about economic and political issues from an early age.
His father was a farmer and an Ayurveda practitioner. Bhatti Vikramarka is the youngest among six brothers. His eldest brother, Anantha Ramulu Mallu, was a Congress MP. His other brother, Mallu Ravi, is a former MP and MLA from Congress. The rest of his brothers, including Mallu Ravi, are doctors.
Bhatti Vikramarka pursued his graduation from Nizam College in Hyderabad and then his post-graduation from Hyderabad Central University. As a student, he had organised a programme in his campus in which former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had participated as the chief guest.
He married his sweetheart, Nandini, during college days. The eldest son, who has completed MS in the US, helps his father in his work. The younger one is pursuing B. Tech in the US.
Bhatti likes to engage in agricultural activities when he is free and grows paddy as a hobby.
People Connect
Talking about how Bhatti Vikramarka is known as a leader who helps everyone in need, his close aide Vejandla Sai Kumar said: “In 2021, a Dalit woman named Mariamma died in police custody at Chintakani Mandal of Khammam district. Sir led a delegation to the CM and presented her case. As a result, her son was given a job and the family an ex gratia of Rs 15 lakh. In a similar manner, a farmer from Mahabubnagar had come to him because he was unable to get the rightful compensation in lieu of land he gave the government to build Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation scheme. Sir helped him immediately. There are many such incidents that have brought sir his reputation as a grassroots leader.”
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