Shekhar Gupta: Sushma Swaraj, a self-made success in patriarchal party

Sushma wasn't a typical BJP 'mahila'. In her dignified departure, the BJP will miss an Indian woman politician with many enviable firsts

There was both a buzz and a hush in the front rows at Rashtrapati Bhawan as Sushma Swaraj walked in to sit in the front row with the most distinguished visitors, not head for the imposing platform where the new ministers were seated for the swearing-in. In her large fan club there was still a hope. Surely, Narendra Modi couldn’t afford to go into his second term without his most popular minister.

Her health challenges are no secret. She, in fact, broke an old taboo in Indian public life by revealing — on Twitter — that she was undergoing a kidney