Chennamaneni Rajeshwara Rao (31 August 1923 - 9 May 2016) was an Indian communist leader and politician from the state of Telangana (former part of Andhra Pradesh).

According to his autobiography, he was interested in issues of social justice in Telangana from an early age on and often had the opportunity to observe the discussions of Andhra Mahasabha leaders, Polkampalli Venkatrama Rao and Baddam Yella Reddy, particularly when its fourth conference was held in Sircilla in 1935.

[2] As a student Rajeshwara Rao joined the Telangana Armed Struggle against Nizam of Hyderabad and actively participated in Freedom Movement of India.

Due to his active participation in the Telangana Rebellion against the ruling Nizam of Hyderabad, Rajeshwara Rao lived underground from September 1947 till October 1951 when he was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act (PDA).

[2] Rajeshwara Rao worked closely with famous Urdu poet Makhdoom Mohiuddin when they all lived in underground dens in Sabzeemandi and chikkadpally, before being arrested.

In 1948, he got elected General Secretary of the AHSU in a secret meeting and led a delegation to the South East Asian Youth Conference in Kolkata the same year.

[2] Rajeshwara Rao was active in movements like the Andhra Mahasabha, during the Telangana Armed Struggle, as a farmers organizer (Kisan), and later as a long time legislator.

In the following three years he practised law in the Karimnagar District Court before re-entering the Legislative Assembly in 1967 and working as the CPI floor leader till 1972.

[7] Despite being one of the founding stalwarts of the Communist Movement in Telangana, in 1999, he sent a shockwave in political circles by snapping decades old relations with CPI and joined Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Chandra Babu Naidu.

[9] After Rajeshwara Rao's retirement from active politics at the age of 87, his son Ch Ramesh was elected in 2009 to the assembly as a candidate of TDP/TRS alliance.

[2] Besides supporting extensive land reforms he implemented a rural development program in Sircilla to electrify 175 villages by establishing a Cooperative Electric Supply Society (CESS) in the course of 5 years.

[8] Rajeshwara Rao moved a motion of privilege in the AP assembly against C. Rajagopalachari, the then CM of Madras, for his un-parliamentary remarks about communists.

[2] Besides the criticism Rajeshwara Rao faced when he objected to his own party's line, he also spurred controversy for leaving the CPI and for his remarks that the founder of the TDP, N.T.

Lalita Devi, they have four children, Aruna, Kalpana, Prabha and Ramesh.The Chennamaneni family represents a unique combination of different political ideologies.

Hanumantha Rao, is a nehruvian socialist[10] and served as a member of the National Planning Commission under Rajiv Gandhi led Congress Government.