Visakhapatnam: TDP State president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao’s father and former MLA Palla Simhachalam (86) passed away on Saturday afternoon.

Simhachalam was suffering from health complications for the past few months and died while he was undergoing treatment at a private hospital. After learning about it, political leaders, close associates and friends expressed their condolences.

Palla Simhachalam was elected as an MLA from Visakhapatnam-2 Assembly constituency in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections held in 1994. Simhachalam started his political career with the Congress party. After serving in various capacities in the party, he contested as a Congress candidate in the 1983 Assembly elections and lost against independent candidate Eswarapu Vasudeva Rao.

Later, he joined the Telugu Desam Party. In the 1989 Assembly elections, he contested as a TDP candidate from the Pendurthi constituency and lost against Congress candidate Gudivada Gurunadha Rao.

Palla Simhachalam contested as a TDP candidate from the Visakhapatnam-2 constituency in 1994 and won by a majority of 21,773 votes against his rival and Congress candidate Y Mariyadas. He again contested as a TDP candidate from the Visakhapatnam-2 constituency in 2004 and lost against Congress Party candidate Saripalli Rangaraju by a margin of 51,010 votes.

Tributes poured in for the late MLA, including from Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Labour Minister Vasamsetti Subhash, MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao, VMRDA chairperson MV Pranav Gopal, among others. Simhachalam’s last rites will be performed on Sunday.