PUNE: “I was blessed to have been associated with Sushma Swarajji for nearly eight years. From 1994 to 2012, she visited Pune eight to nine times for political engagements and personal programmes. However busy and invested she was with the task in her hand, not even once did she forget to ask me about the well-being of my family,” said Jyotsna Sardeshpande, a senior BJP leader from the city.
Sardeshpande was unable to control her emotions when Sakal Times contacted her to share anecdotes from her long association with Swaraj. Sardeshpande said Swaraj connected with foot soldiers of BJP with her inherent warmth.
Sardeshpande, a former corporator from Model Colony, said Swaraj stayed in the city for almost three weeks to learn Yoga from Yogacharya BKS Iyengar in 2006.
Pandurang Rao, working as a secretary at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) for past 45 years, told Sakal Times, “Swaraj and her daughter Bansuri spent 15 days at the institute to learn yoga. They behaved like any other students and showed tremendous respect for Guruji.”
Rao added, “She had a sharp memory and used to address everyone by their first name. I was simply amazed by her skill and asked her about how she manages the same,” she smiled and said that’s a god gift.
Sharing memories from her long association with Swaraj, Sardeshpande said that she got an opportunity to be on her side whenever the leader visited the city. She said, “Swarajji once told me that however busy she was, she used to have at least one breakfast in a month with all members of her family, including her aides and servants. Whenever time permitted, she loved making breakfast for them and said that this gave her a chance to know about their lives.”
MLA Vijay Kale said that Swaraj and her daughter had visited his restaurant when both had stayed in the city. Kale added, “Swaraj was simple and possessed an ability to connect with grassroot-level party workers with utmost ease and dignity.”
