| Honorific-Prefix: | Hon. |
| Jagath Pushpakumara | |
| Native Name: | ජගත් පුෂ්පකුමාර ஜகத் புஷ்பகுமாரா |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MP |
| Constituency Mp1: | Monaragala District |
| Parliament1: | Sri Lanka |
| Term Start1: | 1994 |
| Term End1: | 2000 |
| Term Start2: | 2001 |
| Term End2: | 2015 |
| Term Start3: | 2020 |
| Term End3: | present |
| Office4: | Deputy Minister of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure |
| Term Start4: | 1997 |
| Term End4: | 1999 |
| Office5: | Deputy Minister Mahaweli Development |
| Term Start5: | 1999 |
| Term End5: | 2000 |
| Office6: | Deputy Minister Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation |
| Term Start6: | 2004 |
| Term End6: | 2006 |
| Office7: | Deputy Minister of Agriculture |
| Term Start7: | 2005 |
| Term End7: | 2006 |
| Office8: | Non-Cabinet Minister of Rural Livelihood Development & Social Services and Welfare |
| Term Start8: | 2006 |
| Term End8: | 2007 |
| Office9: | Non-Cabinet Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development |
| Term Start9: | 2007 |
| Term End9: | 2010 |
| Office10: | Deputy Minister of Agriculture |
| Term Start10: | 23 April 2010 |
| Term End10: | 22 November 2010 |
| Office11: | Minister of Coconut Development and Janatha Estate Development |
| Term Start11: | 22 November 2010 |
| Term End11: | 9 January 2015 |
| Office12: | Deputy Minister of Industries |
| Term Start12: | 22 March 2015 |
| Term End12: | 17 August 2015 |
| Birth Date: | 1963 4, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Hambantota, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality: | Sri Lankan |
| Party: | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Otherparty: | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Children: | 2 |
| Residence: | 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; Sinhalese: ජගත් පුෂ්පකුමාර), is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament.[1] [2] [3]
In 1993, Pushpakumara started his political career as the Wellawaya Electoral Organizer for Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Then he became a Date 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. 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]
| Constituency | scope=col colspan="2" | Party | scope=col colspan="2" | Alliance | scope=col | Votes | scope=col | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected | ||||||||
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Elected | |||||||
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Elected | |||||||
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Elected | |||||||
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Elected |