TDP leader and former Chittoor MP N Sivaprasad passes away at the age of 68

TIRUPATI: In less than a week, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has lost two senior leaders after Chittoor MP N Sivaprasad passed away at the age of 68 while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai on Saturday. Even before the main opposition party could come to terms with the untimely demise of former assembly speaker Kodela Sivaprasad, the passing away of the actor-turned-politician N Sivaprasad, came as a major setback to the TDP.
N Sivaprasad was admitted to a private corporate hospital in Chennai a week ago and was undergoing treatment for kidney problems and other age-related ailments. After his condition was said to have deteriorated in the last few days, TDP chief and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu visited the hospital and met the family members of N Sivaprasad on Friday.
Within 24 hours after Naidu's visit, the former Chittoor MP breathed his last on Saturday afternoon, according to hospital sources.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy expressed grief over the death of former Chittoor MP and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members.
Naidu expressed condolences on his Twitter handle. ''May his soul rest in peace. The party is at great loss having lost two senior leaders within a span of a week,'' Naidu tweeted.
The actor turned politician ventured into politics and first served as a minister and later won from the Chittoor parliament constituency twice in 2009 and 2014. He lost the Chittoor Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections to YSRCP's candidate N Reddeppa.
Sivaprasad won the hearts of the Telugu people when he staged protests donning different guises at the Parliament as well as at various places in the state, against the bifurcation of the state as well as demanding special category status for the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh.
A doctor by profession, Sivaprasad had a great inclination towards acting which made him act in several Tollywood films over the years. His last movie was ''Doosukelatha'' released in 2013. He also directed four Tollywood movies including Prema Thapasu, Topi Raja Sweety Roja, Illalu and Kokkarako.