The Mallya years

As a member of the Congress party, Adikesavulu prospered beyond his dreams. People of a certain age will remember that the 1980s and 1990s were the era when the influence of "liquor barons" and their money and muscle power was all-pervasive in Karnataka politics, just like the influence of "mining barons" in recent years. Adikesavulu used every means possible, whether legal or not, to further his business and prospered in extraordinary way. He entered the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) field and minted money. He became a particularly close associate of Vijay Mallya. Indeed, Mallya was Adikesavulu's mentor as he climbed up the ladder from country liquor to IMFL and then to real estate, private education and other such lucrative sectors, which were the main political-interest sectors in those day and which were flush with black money. Mallya and Adikesavulu were totally close to each other and used each other's political connections and even financial resources as required. No two businessmen could ever be more close than Adikesavulu and Mallya. They also actively promoted each other's political careers. Both of them were also agnostic in politics, meaning that they had no ideology except self-interest. They cut deals with all parties as it suited them, supplied money and muscle to everyone, and moved from party to party as expedient. At this time, both of them cultivated the JDS in Karnataka and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh. Again, as with Ramakrishna Hegde, the duo targeted these parties at a time when these parties were in dire need of funds and manpower. Adikesavulu's engagement with the TDP became a serious relationship, both of money and manpower, and once again, country liquor (arrack) played a major role. Once again, there was scandal, this time in Andhra Pradesh, after Chandrababu Naidu auctioned very lucrative contracts to Adikesavulu at a throwaway price. The scandal died down, and Adikesavulu formally joined the Telugu Desam.

In the process of all this deal-making, Adikesavulu and Mallya prospered both financially and in other ways. For instance, both of them were appointed trustees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, the governing body of India's richest and most-visited temple. Indeed, Adikesavulu was made Chairman of that trust, an outrageous appointment given that his business was brewing liquor. Both of them also prospered in politics. Mallya took the help of the BJP and JDS to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

Eventually, Adikesavulu managed businesses such as Karnataka breweries and distilleries, Mallya Hospital, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sreenivasa institute of technology and management studies (SITAMS). He launched a fruit-crushing unit near Bangarupalyam in Chittoor district.

Adikesavulu died on 24 April 2013 in Vydehi hospital, Bengaluru.^[1][2][3]