BJP veteran and former governor of Sikkim Ventrapragada Rama Rao (81) has  died while undergoing treatment for severe lung infection. He was hospitalised about a month ago. Rama Rao is survived by wife and a son.

 About Rao 

• Rao, who was born on December 11, 1935, in Machilipatnam in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, was a lawyer by profession.
• He joined the Jana Sangh in 1956. He had practised at the AP High Court before being elected as MLC on four occasions in the erstwhile AP State Legislature.
• Rama Rao was elected for a record four times in a row to the AP Legislative Council during 1966 to 1984 from the Hyderabad Graduates Constituency.
• His speeches in the Upper House were marked with humour and wit.
• In a political career spanning nearly six decades, Rao held the post of national vice-president of the BJP.
• He also served as the president of the party unit in the then united AP for two times. In 2002, during the NDA regime, Rao was appointed as the governor of Sikkim.