Madan Lal Khurana: Dilli ke Sher gives new vision in death

Former chief minister of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana breathed his last on Saturday at the age of 83 yet he would continue to spread light in someone else's life through his eyes.

The large hearted that he was, as per his wishes, his family members in the midst of grief called the doctors and donated the late leader's eyes. The 'Dilli ke Sher' will stay in the heart of the nation as even in death he stood by his beliefs. His eyes were donated to the Dadichi Sansthan.

Khurana had passed away at his residence following a prolonged illness.

Born on October 15, 1936, in then-Punjab Province, Khurana has been a long time member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He had held several posts in the party, including a stint as the national vice president.

The two-time former Member of Parliament was 12-years-old when his family was forced to move to Delhi following the Partition in 1947.

He first ventured into politics as a student after becoming the general secretary of the Allahabad Students Union in 1959 during his post-graduation in Economics at the Allahabad University. His mainstream political stint began with Jan Sangh, of which he became Delhi secretary in 1965, serving on the post for two years till 1967.

It was actually him along with Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Kedar Nath Sahani and Kanwar Lal Gupta who founded the Delhi wing of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh.

In 1980, the Jan Sangh transformed into the BJP but faced a defeat in the 1984 General Elections. Khurana's work kept the party afloat in Delhi. The BJP then went on to win the legislative assembly elections in 1993, with Khurana being instated as the Chief Minister. The two-time former metropolitan councilor served as the Delhi Chief Minister from 1993 to 1996.

Before becoming the chief minister, he made his parliamentary debut in 1989 by becoming a member of the 9th Lok Sabha. He won three more parliamentary elections and became an MP in 1991, 1998 and 1999 respectively.

He was appointed as the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government until it was dissolved in 1999.

He resigned as the president of BJP's Delhi unit following the defeat in the assembly elections in 2003.

In the year 2004, he served as the Governor of Rajasthan from January to November.

The former Delhi Chief Minister is survived by his wife Raj Khurana, son Harish Khurana and daughter Poonam Gulati. Earlier this year, his son, Vimal Khurana, died due to cardiac arrest.