Mumbai, 23 Feb

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Friday, where he was admitted after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Joshi, 86, was admitted to Hinduja Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on 21 February and passed away early Friday, the private medical facility said. He was admitted to the hospital in May last year after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Joshi Sir, as he was popularly known, was the first chief minister of the undivided Shiv Sena and held the post during 1995-1999. He was also elected as a member of Parliament and was the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2002 to 2004 when the Vajpayee government was in power.

Born on 2 December, 1937 in coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra, Joshi obtained his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai. His political career began with his involvement in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and he later became a member of the Shiv Sena. In the 1980s, Joshi emerged as a key leader within the Shiv Sena, and was known for his organisational skills.

He was the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2002 to 2004 when the Vajpayee government was in power. The former Union minister was married to Anagha Joshi, who died in 2020 at the age of 75. He is survived by a son and two daughters.

Joshi began his career as a teacher and entered politics in 1967. He was associated with the Shiv Sena for more than four decades. He was a municipal councilor in Mumbai during 1968-70 and Chairman, Standing Committee of the Mumbai municipal corporation in 1970. He was the Mayor of Mumbai during 1976-1977.

He was then elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in 1972. After serving three terms in the Legislative Council, Joshi was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1990 and was the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly during 1990-91.

In the 1999 general elections, Joshi won from the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha Constituency as a Shiv Sena candidate, and was later Union minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

Condoling Joshi’s demise, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who was a member of the Maharashtra ministry when the former was the CM, said the state had lost a “cultured face” of politics. Joshi’s family said his last rites will be performed at Shivaji Park crematorium in Dadar area.