TDP veteran Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy passes away

Veteran Telugu Desam Party leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy died in Hyderabad following a heart attack on Friday at the age of 73, party sources here said.

He had been suffering from age-related illness for some time. Bojjala, as he is known, was one of the close associates of TDP chief and former AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He began his career as a lawyer and joined the TDP following a call given by party founder N T Rama Rao. The senior politician served as an MLA for five terms from Srikalahasthi constituency in Chittoor district (now Tirupati district).

Bojjala was minister in the Chandrababu Naidu cabinet in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh and also in the truncated state between 2014 and 2019. He held portfolios like Roads and Buildings, Information Technology, Environment and Forests as minister. Naidu visited Bojjala on the latter's birthday last month and celebrated the occasion.

Bojjala was one of those who was injured, along with Naidu, in the Alipiri blast triggered by Maoists in 2003. The TDP chief, who is touring Kakinada district, expressed profound grief over the demise of his long-time associate and friend. "I am deeply pained by the death of Bojjala. His death is a deep loss to the TDP," Naidu said in a statement.

TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, state president K Atchannaidu and other senior leaders also expressed grief over Bojjala's demise.