Tirupati MP dies, becomes 2nd sitting parliamentarian to succumb to Covid

TIRUPATI: Tirupati MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao died on Wednesday at a hospital in Chennai, where he was admitted after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Prasad Rao was elected on a Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congressticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He is the second sitting MP in India and first from AP to succumb to the virus.
As per hospital authorities, 64-year-old Prasad Rao had a cardiac arrest and all attempts to resuscitate him failed.He had comorbidities when he tested positive.
Prasad Rao, who was earlier with TDP, had served as education minister in N Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinet for two years from 1996. He left TDP and joined YSRC ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Hailing from Bhimavaram in Nayudupet mandal of Nellore, Prasad Rao was a four-time MLA from Gudur in Nellore. He first won assembly polls in 1985 when he was only 28.
CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy expressed shock over the death of Prasad Rao. He offered condolences to his family members. TNN