- Loss: Sheila Dixit was a rare popular three time chief minister of Delhi. She had served as Union minister of state under Prime minister Mrs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi
- Confidante: She was quite close to Gandhi family as her father in law Pandit Uma Shankar Dikshit was a renowned leader of congress and also a friend of Pandit Nehru.
- Catharsis: Unknown to many ; sudden death of her husband Vinod Dikshit- a civil servant- brought her into politics. She was a reluctant politician and accepted politics as a catharsis .[1]
- Development : As she was a well read citizen; She brought in timely development- flyovers, metro rail , administrative reforms etc during her tenure (1998–2013).
- Popular: She was popular as Bua ji (aunt) among cadres and put an astute end to factionalism prevalent in state party politics. It was rare that a new politician broke all fetters of gender,culture and class to lead Delhi.
- Denial: Despite her qualifications- well educated, multi lingual persona -English, Hindi, Punjab, Urdu- and familiarity with Indian politics ; she never became president ; working president or influential general Secretary of party.[2]
- Apparently, her party rivals did not wish her to lead it . She was only treated as a seasoned adviser but never as a senior leader .
- Gain: Narendra Damodardas Modi was born in obscure Vadnagar in Gujarat. He started his life as a simple or swayam sewak (volunteer) with Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh .
- Reluctant :By his own accounts ;Narendra Modi is a reluctant politician;
- But ,soon became a known face of his party- general secretary or in charge of electoral politics -Rath Yatra, in charge of Himachal Pradesh ,Gujarat etc with his astute political sense and hard work.
- Admirers: His development work - better road network, administrative reforms as a popular chief minister in Gujarat (2001–2014) earned him many admirers.[3]
- Massive support: No wonder, he became Prime minister of India as entire party stood behind him. His leadership qualities made him the right man to lead Party at center.[4]
- Conclusion: Congress has lost its leaders; BJP has gained its leaders
- Pic credits: Google
- Rest in peace Sheila Dikshit ji !
