Veteran Congress leader Shiela Dikshit, who has been three-time chief minister of Delhi, died on Saturday afternoon at a hospital in Delhi. She was 81.
She had been admitted to the hospital a few days ago, and suffered a cardiac arrest this afternoon.
Dikshit had taken over as the Congress’ Delhi chief prior to the Lok Sabha polls. She had contested from North East Delhi constituency, where she lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Manoj Tiwari. She was Delhi CM for three consecutive terms between 1998 and 2013, and was succeeded by the Aam Admi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said he was devastated. He tweeted that he had shared with her a close personal bond.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by her sudden death.
