New Delhi: Stepping into the shoes of
stalwart L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj acquired a high profile a
decade back when she contested against Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi in the Lok Sabha polls in Bellary in Karnataka and once
threatened to shave her head.
Sushma(58), who sticks to her familiar wide-bordered
saris plus her trademark big red bindi and sindoor and a smile
that never slips, has carved a niche in the saffron party with
effective presentation of her views both inside and outside
Parliament.
Married to Swaraj Kaushal, a former Mizoram Governor,
the mercurial politician has never hidden her dislike for
Sonia, who beat her in Bellary during the 1999 Lok Sabha
elections. But despite her loss, Sushma has steadily moved up
the party hierarchy.
In a heavily publicized and emotionally charged episode
following the 2004 elections when the Congress was set to form
the government, Sushma threatened to shave her head, don a
white saree and eat groundnuts (symbollically mourning) if
Sonia, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime
Minister.
A prominent woman politician, Swaraj is the first woman
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha when the Congress or
alliances led by it was in power.
-PTI
