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Hon.
Jagath Pushpakumara
MP
Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara MP
ජගත් පුෂ්පකුමාර ; ஜகத் புஷ்பகுமாரா
Member of Parliament; for Monaragala District
	In office; 1994–2000
	In office; 2001–2015
	In office; 2020–2024
Deputy Minister of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure
	In office; 1997–1999
Deputy Minister Mahaweli Development
	In office; 1999–2000
Deputy Minister Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation
	In office; 2004–2006
Deputy Minister of Agriculture
	In office; 2005–2006
Non-Cabinet Minister of Rural Livelihood Development & Social Services and Welfare
	In office; 2006–2007
Non-Cabinet Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development
	In office; 2007–2010
Deputy Minister of Agriculture
	In office; 23 April 2010 – 22 November 2010
Minister of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development
	In office; 22 November 2010 – 9 January 2015
Deputy Minister of Planatation Industries
	In office; 22 March 2015 – 17 August 2015
Personal details
Born	3 April 1963 (age 61); Hambantota, Sri Lanka
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Children	2
Residence(s)	No 34A, Ashoka circle, Subhuthipura, Battaramulla
Alma mater	Bandarawela Central College ; S.Thomas' College
Profession	Politician

Arukathu Patabendige Jagath Pushpakumara, commonly known as Jagath Pushpakumara (Sinhala: ජගත් පුෂ්පකුමාර), is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Political career

In 1993, Pushpakumara started his political career as the Wellawaya Electoral Organizer for Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Then he became a Date^{[clarification needed]} Central Committee Member from 2010 to the present. During that same time, he worked as the SLFP Deputy Secretary from February 2015 to 2018. Apart from them, he was an active member of several committees including; the Committee on Public Enterprises, Committee on Public Petitions and Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour.^[1] In the second government under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Pushpakumara was appointed as the Minister of Coconut Development.^[4]^[5]

On 28 December 2015, Pushpakumara arrived at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into Large-scale Corruption and Fraud.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] In 2016, he was investigated for allegedly using over Rs.5 million rupees of government money to buy land under his wife's name. That same year, his official residence in Wijerama Mawatha was damaged by an electrical fire.^[10] In 2020, he made a controversial statement at a public election rally that there was a conspiracy to assassinate him.^[11]^[12]

Pushpakumara contested the 2020 parliamentary election as a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate in Monaragala District and was elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, finishing the fourth among the SLPP candidates.^[13]^[14] On 22 February 2022, he was appointed as the new Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions for the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.^[15] In May 2022, it is reported that SLFP representatives Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Amaraweera, Duminda Dissanayake, Jagath Pushpakumara and Lasantha Alagiyawanna have decided to go beyond the party decision and take over the ministries of the new government under Ranil Wickramasinghe.^[16]

Electoral history of Jagath Pushpakumara
Election	Constituency			Votes	Result
1994 parliamentary	Monaragala District	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	People's Alliance	21,100	Elected
2001 parliamentary	Monaragala District	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	People's Alliance	32,754	Elected
2004 parliamentary	Monaragala District	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	United People's Freedom Alliance	52,887	Elected
2010 parliamentary	Monaragala District	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	United People's Freedom Alliance	67,903	Elected
2020 parliamentary	Monaragala District	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance	66,176	Elected