Polsani Muralidhar Rao is an Indian political activist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, he served as a National General Secretary of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(BJP) from 2013 to 2020. Prior to joining the BJP, Rao was active in the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, where he was its Organising Secretary, as well as in other affiliates of the

Hindu nationalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

organisation

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

Life

Muralidhar Rao is the son of a farmer at Korapalli village in

Karimnagar district Karimnagar district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Telangana. Karimnagar city is its administrative headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Peddapalli, Jagityal, Sircilla, Siddipet, Jangaon, Hanamkonda district an ...

. He did his undergraduate studies in

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

and postgraduate studies in

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farma ...

, Hyderabad, receiving an MA and M. Phil in Philosophy. As a student leader of ABVP, he was a target of the Naxalites who shot him and about 18 pellets still remain in his body.

Political career

Rao joined the Indian cultural volunteer organisation

at a young age and became its

pracharak The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family") ...

(full-time worker). Deputed to northern states by the RSS, he was recognised for his skills in organising students. While at Osmania University, he served as the Gen Secretary of Arts College students' union and an activist of

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). History The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS a ...

. Muralidhar Rao joined the RSS at a very young age. He led ABVP in Warangal and Hyderabad. He was general secretary of Osmania University Students' Union in 1984. Heading North The ABVP deputed him to Rajasthan in 1987. His remarkable organising skills won him laurels of late Bhairon Singh Shekawat. Fighting insurgents The ABVP moved him to J&K in 1991, when there were pressing demands due to insurgency. He rallied the youth against fundamentalist forces, despite threats to his life from jihadists.

Swadeshi Jagaran Manch

He assisted RSS leaders

Dattopant Thengadi Dattopant Bapurao Thengadi, (Marathi: दत्तोपंत ठेंगडी, 1920–2004) was an Indian Hindu Ideologue, trade union leader and founder of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan ...

, Madan Das and S Gurumurthy in floating Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, a movement to protect Indian rural economy against the onslaught of globalisation.

Bharatiya Janata Party

Muralidhar Rao joined BJP in January 2009 as attaché to the then president Rajnath Singh. In 2010, he was made national secretary by Nitin Gadkari. Appointed one of the BJP general secretaries on 1 March 2013. Muralidhar Rao was also in contention for the post of the BJP President, after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw Rajnath Singh becoming the Union Home Minister. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

he played crucial role for the BJP. ; Positions held *2009: Attaché to Rajnath Singh, BJP President. *2010: National secretary,

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

*2013: National General-Secretary,

References

External links

* Telugu politicians Living people 1965 births Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Telangana Osmania University alumni People from Karimnagar district {{BJP-politician-stub