Veteran BJP leader Jayawantiben Mehta, who passed away yesterday after a prolonged illness, is remembered by many as a strong leader
Jayawantiben Mehta
The last rites for the late Jayawantiben Mehta were carried out at Shivaji Park yesterday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
When veteran BJP leader and former Union minister Jayawantiben Mehta first joined politics some 50 years ago, it was a different time and age, both in Mumbai politics and in her party's growth story. Yesterday, as she breathed her last at the age of 78, it signalled the end of that era.
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A staunch follower of the RSS school of thought, Mehta was one of the first leaders of the BJP, an off-shoot of the Janasangh, to have breached the Congress barrier in a metro like Mumbai. The homemaker-turned-politician began as a corporator from a Gujarati-dominated civic ward of South Mumbai and went on to become union minister of state for power in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Growth story
Mehta served Mumbai for 10 years as a corporator, was elected twice as MLA and, later, served as the Lok Sabha MP from South Mumbai for three terms. She was a witness to BJP's growth story in the city and Maharashtra and, although she was not involved in active politics post 2009, people close to her said she had always been a guiding force, even when she was not keeping well.
Also Read: Veteran BJP leader Jayawantiben Mehta passes away at 78
Jayawantiben Mehta
Her dedicated work, fiery public speaking and indomitable fighting spirit — she served most of her political career in the opposition — earned her the popular title 'Bhuleshwar chi Bhavani'. Several young leaders looked up to Mehta as a mother figure. CM Devendra Fadnavis is one among them.
Mehta represented the section in BJP that advocates women empowerment and supports party loyalists all through their careers. A BJP leader said Mehta's autobiography, 'Marching With Time', in which she writes about her political journey, should be a great source of inspiration for party workers, especially middle-class women.
However, the leader wondered whether the present state of politics would allow a homemaker from any party to achieve such heights. "Jayawantiben's time was entirely different. Parties would give common party workers an opportunity. Sadly, the situation is changed now," he said, requesting anonymity.
Other than parliamentary responsibilities, Mehta also worked as a member of the BJP's national executive, national secretary, president of women's national wing and national vice-president.
It was Congressman Milind Deora who put the brakes on her parliamentary career, by inflicting on her a second successive defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, after which she announced retirement from active politics.
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