Ex-Minister Pushparaj, a senior leader of the Telugu Desam party, has passed away. A year ago, he got covid. He overcame the infection, but he was still plagued by other health issues. Pushparaj was recently admitted by the family to a private hospital in Guntur, but he passed away today (July 28) while receiving medical care. Pushparaj, a member of Telugudesham since the party's founding, won the Tadikonda constituency twice in a row between 1983 and 1985. He served in the NTR administration as a minister. Because of his affiliation with the Left, he was denied a ticket in 1994. He contested from Tadikonda again in 1999 and won the election for the TDP a third time. He received the ticket in 2004, but lost. He presided over the AP Food Commission in 2017. TDP leaders expressed their sorrow at Pushparaj's passing.