Tirupati MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao dies of cardiac arrest; PM mourns death

Tirupati Lok Sabha MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, died at a hospital in Chennai on Wednesday. He was a Minister in the Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad:Tirupati MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao (64) suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away on Wednesday. Rao, who was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai, was suffering from various ailments including coronavirus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter and expressed his grief over the demise of Tirupati MP.

"Saddened by the demise of Lok Sabha MP, Balli Durga Prasad Rao Garu. He was an experienced leader, who made effective contributions towards the progress of Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with his family and well-wishers in this sad hour. Om Shanti", PM wrote on his twitter handle.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has also expressed sadness over the death of Durga Prasad. The Chief Minister spoke his son over phone and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the family members.

"The sudden death of Tirupati MP Balli Durgaprasad has come as a shock. He had worked tirelessly in the public service for 4 decades as an MLA, Minister and MP. His death was a desperate blow to the party. I offer my condolences to the family, praying for peace for their souls," roughly translated from the tweet of Chief Minister.

Hailing from Nellore district, Prasad entered into politics at the age of 26 and was associated with Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

He was elected as an MLA from Gudur constituency of Nellore district for four times in 1985, 1994, 1999, 2009 assembly elections and elected as an MP from YSRCP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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