India

NEW DELHI: Former chief minister of Delhi and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit passed away in Delhi on Saturday at the age of 81 years.  

Dikshit was unwell for some time, she was admitted to a private hospital on Saturday morning.  

Dikshit served as the chief minister of Delhi for three terms from 1998 to 2013. She was the longest serving chief minister of Delhi.  

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, under her leadership, the Congress party managed to push AAP candidates on the third place in five of the seven seats in Delhi, besides registering growth in its vote share.  

In January this year, the three-time former Delhi chief minister was appointed president of the city unit after the incumbent Ajay Maken stepped down citing health issues.  

Despite being an octagenarian, Dikshit led the party in Lok Sabha polls and herself contested against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari from the North East Delhi seat. She lost by over 3. 66 lakh votes.