Published 23:39 IST, August 6th 2019
Sushma Swaraj passes away: Here's a look at her glorious political career
Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 67.
Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 67.
The veteran politician's stint in politics began after her practice as a Supreme Court advocate. In the second term of PM Modi, she decided to quit her political career citing health reasons.
The beginning of her political career dates back to 1970s, and at the age of 25, she was elected as an MLA from Haryana's Ambala Cantt Assembly seat.
In 1979, she became the state president of Janta Party, for Haryana at the age of 27.
She swore-in as a Labour and Employment Cabinet Minister in the Janta Party government which was led by Haryana chief minister Devi Lal in 1977.
She represented Ambala again in 1987 until 1990 and became Haryana's Education, Food and Supplies Minister in a coalition government of BJP-Lok Dal.
The former Union Minister was then elected as a member of Rajya Sabha in April 1990. During her tenure as a Rajya Sabha member between 1990-1996, she served in several committees.
In 1997, Swaraj won the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency and was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha. Under the former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, she served as the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting. She became the youngest ever Cabinet Minister in the country at the age of 25.
Swaraj was reelected in the 12th Lok Sabha from the same constituency and apart from handling the portfolio of I&B Minister, she handled telecommunications as well.
Swaraj in 1998 became the first chief minister of the union territory of Delhi.
In 1999, she lost the Lok Sabha seat of Karnataka's Bellary to then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. However, in 2000, she was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha and served as the I&B Minister in PM Vajpayee's government. Later, she took over the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and Parliamentary Affairs.
In 2006, Swaraj was elected for a third term in the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.
In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, she won the Vidisha Parliamentary constitution by the highest margin of over 4 lakh votes and became an Opposition leader, replacing BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani.
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In 2014, under PM Modi's first tenure, Sushma Swaraj served as the External Minister and was known to be the most approachable leader.
She became the second woman, after former PM Indira Gandhi to hold that portfolio. In many firsts, she was BJP's first female Chief Minister, Union Minister, General Secretary, Spokesperson, leader of Opposition and even the first Minister of External Affairs.
Her contributions to the Indian political history will be remembered in times to come.
Updated 23:46 IST, August 6th 2019