Hyderabad: Former minister and senior Congress leader M. Mukesh Goud passed away on Monday afternoon while undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills.
He was admitted to hospital on Sunday after his health condition deteriorated. The Congress leader is said to have been battling cancer for the last five years. Sixty-year-old Mukesh Goud is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
He served as BC welfare and marketing minister in the cabinets of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He lost to Raja Singh of the BJP in 2014 and 2018 and after the recent defeat, slowly withdrew from active politics.
Mukesh Goud was born on July 1, 1959 and was known as a mass leader interacting well with the public.
He entered politics in his college days joining the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and also served as Youth Congress leader. He was elected corporator from Jam Bagh division in 1986.
Popularly known as Mukesh anna in political circles, he made his debut in the State Assembly in 1989 from Maharajgunj Assembly constituency. Subsequently, he won from Maharajgunj in 2004 and later from Gosha-mahal in 2009 after Maharajgunj ceased to be a constituency following delimitation.
He served as BC Welfare and Marketing Minister in the cabinets of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
He lost to Raja Singh of the BJP in 2014 and 2018 and after the recent defeat, slowly withdrew from active politics.
Mukesh Goud made his last public appearance during the Lok Sabha elections this year when he was brought in an ambulance to a polling station to cast his vote.
Hearing about his demise, veteran Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, R.C. Khuntia and Telangana Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy rushed to the hospital and paid tributes.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his condolences on the demise of the former minister and recalled his services as minister and MLA.
Mr Rao has decided to conduct the funeral of Mukesh Goud with full state honours and asked the Chief Secretary to make arrangements. The last rites of Mukesh Goud will likely be performed on Tuesday.
