Andhra Pradesh minister for Industries and Information Technology Mekapati Gowtham Reddy died of cardiac arrest here on Monday. He was 49.

The minister collapsed at his home and was rushed to Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, where he was declared dead.

Gowtham Reddy, who had returned from Dubai only two days ago after attending Dubai Expo, is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Apollo Hospitals said in a statement that Gowtham Reddy collapsed suddenly at home. He was brought to hospital at 07:45 a.m and was unresponsive, not breathing and in cardiac arrest on arrival.

“He received immediate CPR and advanced cardiac life support in our emergency department. The emergency medicine team and specialists including cardiologists and critical care doctors have attended to him. CPR was done for more than 90 mins. Despite our best efforts he could not be revived. He was declared to have died at 9.16 a.m. today morning,” the hospital said.

Hailing from Nellore district, Gowtham Reddy was elected to the Assembly from Atmakur constituency on YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ticket in 2014 and 2019. After YSRCP came to power in 2019, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy inducted him into the cabinet and entrusted him the portfolio of industries and information technology.

Son of former YSRCP MP Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy, Gowtham Reddy was an industrialist politician and was one of the highly educated ministers. He was known as a friendly and affable person in political circles.

His sudden death sent shock waves in the state. TDP leader and former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, Telangana Congress leader and MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and YSR Telangana Party leader Y. Sharmila were among the leaders who visited Apollo Hospital.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed deep shock and profound grief over the untimely demise of Gowtham Reddy.

Terming Gowtham Reddy as a “young promising” leader who was known to him since early days, the Chief Minister expressed anguish over the tragic incident and said that words fail to describe the loss of his young cabinet colleague.

He conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members with a heavy heart.