Year Ender 2019: Five Leaders Whose Demise Left A Huge Dent In Indian Politics In 2019

In the year 2019, the Indian politics suffered some serious setbacks as many prominent politicians breathed their last, leaving irreparable voids in the political landscape of India. The Bharatiya Janata Party lost three of its key leaders - Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar,all in the same year. Apart from them Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit and former defence minister George Fernandes also bade their final goodbyes.

Sushma Swaraj: Sushma Swaraj, senior BJP leader and former foreign minister, passed away on August 6 in Delhi. One of the most prominent women faces in the Indian Politics, Swaraj took her last breath at AIIMS in the national capital. The BJP veteran, who suffered a massive heart attack, was 67. A star minister during Modi government's first stint, Swaraj did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and chose to sit out of the government this year on account of her health. A day before her demise, she had tweeted to congratulate PM Modi for scrapping of Article 370.

George Fernandes: Former Defence Minister George Fernandes passed away at 88 on January 29 after a prolonged illness. Fernandes breathed his last at Max hospital in Delhi. Fernandes was a former Indian trade unionist, politician, journalist, agriculturist, and member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He served as a Defence Minister of the country when India defeated Pakistan during Kargil war in 1999. He was admitted in Max for a very long time and was suffering through Alzheimers, which had forced him out of the public eye for last many years, and had also contracted swine flu at the time of his death./ Image: Twitter

Sheila Dixit: Serving as Delhi’s CM for 15 long years, Sheila Dikshit is the longest-serving female chief minister of any Indian state. She was president of Delhi Congress. She served as Delhi's chief minister for 15 years from 1998-2013 and also served as the governor of Kerala. Known as a warm and affable politician, Dikshit carried out massive infrastructure development of Delhi during her tenure. She also launched a number of social welfare schemes with involvement of resident welfare associations as part of her participatory model of governance. She passed away on July 20. / Image: PTI

Arun Jaitley: The Lawyer-turned-politician Arun Jaitely, passed away at the age of 66 on August 24. He breathed his last at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after prolonged illness. BJP stalwart and former finance minister was admitted to AIIMS on August 9 and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of senior doctors. Hospital sources had earlier said he was on life support. He was one of PM Modi's most trusted colleagues. Jaitely blossomed into a full-fledged politician after establishing himself as one of the top lawyers in the country. Jaitley slowly occupied a prime place in BJP's hierarchy in the shadow of stalwarts of the time Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani.

Manohar Parrikar: Manohar Parrikar, who passed away at his private residence on March 17, after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer, became India's 18th and Goa's second Chief Minister to die in office. Parrikar, 63, was the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader to be Goa Chief Minister. He headed the state from 2000-05 and 2012-14, before joining the Narendra Modi government as Defence Minister from 2014 before returned to state politics in 2017 to lead a coalition government.