Jovial & dynamic, Sheila Dikshit gave national capital its new look

Three-time Delhi chief minister and Congress stalwart Sheila Dikshit, 81, who gave the national capital its modern look, passed away on Saturday afternoon at a private hospital here after suffering cardiac arrest.

Born in 1938 in Kapurthala, Punjab as Sheila Kapoor, Dikshit went to Miranda House in University of Delhi for her studies. Her tryst with the political world began when she got married to the Dikshit family and became the daughter-in-law of Uttar Pradesh leader Uma Shankar Dikshit.

It was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who first noticed young Sheila. She then went on to work closely with former PM Rajiv Gandhi. In her career as Delhi's longest-serving CM, Sheila Dikshit transformed the infrastructure of the national capital giving it a look sprawling with wide roads, flyovers and world-class Metro service.

Sheila Dikshit led the Congress to a resounding victory with 52 seats in Delhi Assembly and went on to take the seat of national capital's chief minister. Her stint was repeated for the next two terms — 2003 and in 2008.

Despite her hard work, Dikshit met with hurdles and setbacks as Congress grappled with corruption scandals at the Centre. She came under scanner for the Commonwealth Games fiasco in 2010 which is often seen as the beginning of her downfall.

The rise of Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party shook Dikshit's hold on the national capital. Her Delhi government also bore the brunt of the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case. In 2015 polls, the Congress failed to open its account in Delhi for the first time, a setback for the grand old party and Dikshit.

Even at 81, she has been actively involved in politics and was widely regarded as Congress' CM face in Delhi elections. However, destiny had something else in store.