Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Pune, Mukta Tilak, passed away at a private hospital here after a five-year-long battle with cancer, the hospital authorities said.
She was 57.
Tilak, who was a first-time legislator, represented the Kasba Assembly segment in Pune city. "She was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. She was admitted to the hospital 10 days back and breathed her last around 3.30 pm today," Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, surgical oncologist and medical director of Galaxy Care hospital, said. Before becoming an MLA in 2019, Tilak was also the mayor of Pune. She was a great-granddaughter-in-law of freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak. She is survived by husband Shailesh Tilak, a daughter and a son, a local BJP functionary said. Despite her ailment, Tilak had travelled from Pune to Mumbai to cast her vote during the Rajya Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Council elections held in May and June this year, respectively, which earned praise in political circles.
