Nagpur/Mumbai: Jaywantiben Mehta, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former union minister passed away early on Monday at her residence following a brief illness. She was 78 and had served as a minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
A housewife-turned-politician, Mehta breathed her last around 1.30 a.m. today and the last rites are scheduled this evening at Shivaji Park crematorium, said a party official. Around six years, she had penned and released her multi-lingual autobiography, ‘Marching With Time’, detailing her lifea’s journey from a middle-class home-maker to a municipal corporator to parliamentarian and then a union minister.
Mehta entered into active politics in 1968 when he won Mumbai Municipal elections. She remained active for in Mumbai civic body for next years. She was also jailed for 19 months during emergency. He turned member of legislative assembly in 1980 and also elected as the member of BJP National Executive Committee. She went on to win Lok Sabha elections in 1989 and became Member of Parliament. She also served as Union Energy Minister between 1996 and 1999 in Vajpayee government.
She lost to Congress candidate Murli Devda in 2004. Top leaders from across the political spectrum today expressed grief over the demise of Mehta.
