Rajasthan BJP MLA Kiran Maheshwari, Covid-19 positive, passes away; PM Modi, Lok Sabha speaker condole demise

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Rajasthan’s Rajsamand, Kiran Maheshwari, who had tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) last month, passed away last night at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital, news agency ANI reported. Maheshwari, who was also a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004-2009 from Rajasthan’s Udaipur constituency, was shifted to Medanta earlier this month after her health worsened.

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According to reports, Maheshwari had contracted Covid-19 during October’s municipal corporation elections. She was one of the two election in-charges of the BJP for the Kota North Municipal Corporation (KNMC), Churu MLA Rajendra Rathore being the other.

Condoling her demise, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Kota, called it a “personal loss.” He tweeted: “The passing way of Rajsamand MLA Kiran Maheshwari is extremely saddening. She devoted her entire life to serving the society. Her death is a personal loss to me. May her soul rest in peace. My condolences are with her family.”

“I worked with Kiran ji politically and socially for a long time. She was a strong voice for social issues, especially the rights of women and deprived classes. Kiran Ji, who was always ready to help the afflicted, will always be remembered for her courage and clarity,” Birla posted in a subsequent tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conveyed his condolences on her death. Quoting PM Modi, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted: “Pained by the untimely demise of Kiran Maheshwari Ji. Be it as MP, MLA or Cabinet Minister in the Rajasthan Government, she made numerous efforts to work towards the progress of the state and empower the poor as well as marginalised. Condolences to her family. Om Shanti.”

Before Maheshwari, Congress MLA from Bhilwara, Kailash Trivedi, had passed away due to post-Covid-19 complications in October. Trivedi, who, like Maheshwari, breathed his last in Gurugram, had tested positive in September. He had subsequently tested negative but continued to have problems in his lungs, in what doctors described as a post-Covid-19 complication.

Also Read | Rajasthan’s Congress MLA Kailash Trivedi dies of post-Covid complications

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh ministers and BJP leaders Chetan Chauhan and Kamal Rani Varun, too, had passed away due to Covid-19.

As of Sunday, Rajasthan’s Covid-19 tally stood at 262,805, according to government data. This includes 231, 780 recoveries, 28,751 active cases and 2,274 deaths.