In a sad coincidence, Delhi's only two women Chief Ministers passed away within three weeks of each other. Former Delhi chief minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit died on July 20, while former foreign minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj died at the age of 67 on Tuesday night, August 6.
Sushma Swaraj's tenure as Delhi CM was very short - from October 13, 1998, to December 3, 1998. Dikshit succeeded Swaraj as the next Chief Minister of Delhi. Both the leaders were prominent women politicians of their respective political parties- Congress and BJP.
Illustrious BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India's diplomacy, passed away on Tuesday night suffering a massive cardiac arrest. She was 67. Swaraj was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences around 9:30 PM in a critical condition and was straight away taken to the emergency ward where a team of doctors attended to her but could not revive the astute politician.
On the other hand, Senior Congress leader and three-time former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit passed away on July 20 in the national capital following a cardiac arrest. She was 81. She was president of Delhi Congress. She served as Delhi's chief minister for 15 years from 1998-2013 and also served as the governor of Kerala. She unsuccessfully fought the recent Lok Sabha elections from the North-East Delhi constituency. She represented New Delhi constituency in Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
