Hyderabad, June 8 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao broke down while paying his last respects to party MLA Maganti Gopinath, who passed away on Sunday.

KCR, as Chandrasekhar Rao is popularly known, was visibly moved while paying homage to Gopinath at the latter’s residence.

Gopinath, the BRS MLA from Jubilee Hills constituency, died early Sunday, three days after he suffered a massive cardiac arrest. He was 63.

He was also undergoing treatment for kidney-related complications, having recently undergone surgery.

KCR, who was shocked over the demise of the MLA, laid a wreath on the mortal remains of Gopinath at the latter’s residence at Doctors Colony in Madhapur.

The former Chief Minister consoled the family members. He was accompanied by BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao, senior leader T. Harish Rao, MP Ravichandra and others.

Earlier, KCR expressed shock over Gopinath’s demise. The BRS chief conveyed his condolences to his family.

Andhra Pradesh minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) General Secretary Nara Lokesh also visited Gopinath’s residence to pay his last respects. Accompanied by his wife, Brahmini, he consoled the family members.

Gopinath began his political career with the TDP in the 1980s and headed the Hyderabad unit of Telugu Yuvata, the youth wing of the party.

He was elected to the Telangana Assembly from Jubilee Hills in 2014 on a TDP ticket. He later joined the BRS and was re-elected in 2018.

Gopinath scored a hat-trick in 2023, defeating his nearest rival and former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin of the Congress by over 16,000 votes.

He is the second BRS MLA from Hyderabad to pass away since their election in 2023.

Lasya Nanditha died in a road accident in February 2024, barely four months after she was elected from Secunderabad Cantonment.

She was the daughter of BRS leader and five-time MLA from Secunderabad constituency, G. Sayanna, who had passed away in February 2023 due to illness.

–IANS

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