Soft-spoken, caring and yet combative to the core, an ageing Sheila Dikshit was the primary face of the grand-old Congress in Delhi for 15 years. Her affable nature and ability to engage both senior party leaders and rank-and-filers, ordinary voters as well as the opposition, was what secured her an unprecedented three-term stint as chief minister of Delhi from 1998 to 2013.
Shone bright as Delhi CM
Though Dikshit entered politics much earlier and became the minister for parliamentary affairs in the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1984, she will best be remembered for her tenure as the chief minister of Delhi. For it was during this period that the national capital witnessed all-round development with visible improvements in its infrastructure and the expansion of its metro and road network.
Her tenure as CM also witnessed Delhi becoming the first city in the world to have its entire public road transportation fleet shift to the cleaner compressed natural gas, though with the prodding and even diktat of the Supreme Court. During this period, the green cover of Delhi also increased significantly.
Another major event to take place during her term was the Commonwealth Games. Though the city witnessed tremendous infrastructure development ahead of the games, allegations of corruption in the works fatally tarnished the image of the Congress-run state government and even her personally. Though she managed to keep the BJP at bay for nearly a decade and a half, the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party – that rode the tide of an anti-corruption movement – ultimately dislodged her.
Watch: Sheila Dikshit’s Tell-All Interview With Karan Thapar
Return to active politics after a hiatus
Even after she lost the Delhi Assembly election in 2013, the party did not let her slip into oblivion. She was made the governor of Kerala. Narendra Modi’s election as prime minister meant she had to return to Delhi sooner than she had imagined. After a short hiatus, Dikshit returned to active politics earlier this year when the Congress made her the Delhi unit president after incumbent Ajay Maken decided to step down citing health reasons. It was under Dikshit that the party fought the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.
Leading from the front, she too dived head-on into the electoral waters and contested the polls from North East Delhi. Unlike in 2014, when the Congress ended third in all the seats of Delhi behind the BJP and AAP, this time it managed to take the second spot in five of the seven constituencies. At 81, Dikshit too came second but more importantly, she revived the party as it improved its vote share significantly and overtook AAP.
Sheila Dikshit. Photo: PTI
She took both victory and defeat in her stride
People who came close to Dikshit would always remember her as a person who would never get bitter. Even in defeat, she saw a process. Ahead of the 2013 elections, Dikshit narrated to me her experience from when she was the MP from Kannauj in the 1980s.
“When I was contesting from there for the first time, I would see people lined up on the roadside, waving at me when my convoy would pass by. It was an assuring sight and the huge margin of victory was indicative of how they felt. But, when I contested again in 1989, few waved at me as I passed by. And I knew I would be losing,” she said, indicating that it was not difficult to gauge the mood of the people.
Another facet of Dikshit’s nature was the personal attention she would give to the people she liked. Though as the CM, Dikshit used to always be hard-pressed for time, she made it a point to return for lunch to see that things were in order at home. Usually, guests would be called over for lunch and at times she would personally serve them. With one eye on the kitchen and another on what other family members would be doing, she was a person who never lost sight of anything around her.
It was also the warmth she exuded that made even her political opponents pay personal visits to her.
Also read: Congress Relies on Its War-Horse Sheila Dikshit for Battles Ahead
Etiquette and Gandhi family connections ensured political longevity
Educated at Convent of Jesus and Mary and Miranda House college in Delhi, Dikshit, due to her etiquette, mannerisms and the fact that she was married into the political family of former West Bengal governor Uma Shankar Dikshit, grew close to the Gandhi family in the 1970s and ’80s. It was this bond which allowed her to continue in the post of chief minister of Delhi for so long. She also held several organisational positions within the Congress.
Dikshit, who first underwent an angioplasty at Escorts Hospital in Delhi in 2012, made regular visits to hospital in view of her failing health. This morning too, after she took unwell, she was admitted to the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute at around 10-30 am. However, she passed away at 3:30 pm.
She is survived by a son, Sandeep, and daughter, Latika.