He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1999 from the Nandigama Constituency and retained the assembly seat in 2004.
[3] For the Mylavaram seat, TDP nominated Vasantha Venkata Krishna Prasad, who quit YSRCP and joined the party in February 2024.
[4][5] Rao was arrested in November 2011 on alleged charges of obstructing government officials from doing their duty at a mass contact programme, named Rachhabanda.
[6] On 28 July 2021, Rao was arrested along with 17 others on charges of alleged rioting at G. Kondur police station, in Krishna district.
[7] Two days later, the police placed Rao and a few other Telugu Desam leaders under house arrest to prevent them from undertaking a fact-finding visit to Kondapalli Reserve Forest.