Delhi was reeling under the spiraling prices of onion and the then Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma was under tremendous pressure. The internal dynamics of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Delhi unit was such that in case of Sahib Singh Verma was replaced as Chief Minister, Dr Harshvardhan, the Delhi Health Minister, could have been the successor but there was no love lost between the two.
Hard pressed to assuage the public anger over onion prices that had surpassed over Rs 70 a kg in September 1998, the BJP leadership headed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister LK Advani decided to send Union Minister Sushma Swaraj as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi as that would have not only been acceptable to the Delhi BJP leaders but to the women of the national Capital who were extremely unhappy with the rising onion prices.
Sushma who was 46 years old then and a Minister in the Vajpayee Government, was sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister on October, 13, 1998 by the then Lieutenant Governor VK Kapoor. She remained at the helm till December, 1998 (for 50 days) and tried her best to revive the image of the party and that of the Delhi Government. She toiled hard and tried to reach out to the populace but could not succeed as the public resentment against the BJP-led Delhi Government had grown beyond redemption.
Delhi Congress president, Sheila Dikshit who rode the voters disenchantment over onion prices and helped by the bickering within the ranks of former Chief Ministers Madan Lal Khuarna and Sahib Singh Verma, won elections for Congress and replaced Swaraj as the Chief Minister of the Government of National Capital Territory (GNCT) of Delhi.
During her brief stint of 50 days Sushma tried to bring normalcy on the law and order front in Delhi, despite the Delhi Police not being under her control. She had paid ten surprise visits to Chandni Chowk and Kalpyanpuri police station unannounced that created quite a flutter in the bureaucratic circles of the national Capital.
Though she was Chief Minister of Delhi for a brief period only, she left an indelible mark on the city politics and governance. Old timers who worked with her and saw her from close quarters, fondly recalled her simplicity and the quality of listening to MLAs, irrespective of their political affiliation, on issues concerning to the welfare of the people of the national Capital.
Dr Harshvardhan who was Health and Education Minister in Delhi Cabinet headed by Swaraj and her colleague in the union cabinet, tweeted, “From United Nations to the Parliamnet, Sushma didi left her mark with her forceful oratory and effective handling. It would be very tough to fill the void created by her sudden demise”. She had good relations with leaders of several political parties when she was the Delhi chief minister. She attracted people due to her simplicity,” said Ram Niwas Goel, the Speaker of Delhi Assembly. As CM she was always receptive to the Opposition members on the issue of city’s welfare”, he said.
Haroon Yusuf, who was a young MLA from Balli Maran seat said, “She always listened to us on the issues related to public order and never discriminated on party lines.
Shoaib Iqbal, the five-term MLA from Matia Mahal Assembly seat remembered her for her affable nature and accessibility, “Sushma ji was different type of leader who treated MLAs cutting across the party lines as the chief minister of Delhi. She always heard all of us without any discrimination,” Iqbal said.