Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had a brief stint spanning five months in Kerala as the 22nd Governor of the State. She held the office from March 11 to August 25, 2014.
Ms. Dikshit had said she was excited to come down to God’s Own Country and was looking forward to working for the State while being appointed by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.
Ms. Dikshit had replaced former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who resigned to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bihar.
Her appointment as Kerala Governor was during the last months of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, within three months of her shocking defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal.
The appointment was opposed by the AAP as FIRs were filed against her in Delhi.
In August, Ms. Dikshit submitted her resignation on hearing about the move to shift her out of Kerala with the Bharatiya Janata Party government coming to power and five other Governors appointed during the UPA regime resigning.
Endearing personality
Governor P. Sathasivam said Ms. Dikshit had won people’s hearts with her endearing personality and strong administrative capability during her tenure as the Chief Minister of Delhi and as the Governor here.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a condolence message, said the leadership qualities of Ms. Dikshit was appreciated even by her political rivals.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, among others, condoled her death.
