NEW DELHI: BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Malhotra was cremated with state honours at Lodhi Road crematorium on Wednesday. Earlier, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, senior leaders and a large number of party workers gathered at the office to pay their respects. The last rites were performed by Malhotra’s son, Ajay.
His mortal remains were taken from Rakabganj Road, where he lived, to the Delhi BJP office on Pant Marg, where leaders and workers paid homage. Besides Gupta and Sachdeva, Delhi ministers Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Parvesh Verma, MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and other senior leaders offered floral tributes.
The Jana Sangh-era politician was the first president of the Delhi BJP after the party was founded in 1980. Malhotra’s 45-year political journey was marked by his work as an RSS swayamsevak and a Jana Sangh and BJP leader who kept the party afloat and worked tirelessly for its growth in the national capital, leaders said.
He was elected to Parliament five times and also to the Delhi Assembly. Malhotra defeated Congress candidate Manmohan Singh from South Delhi in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls. Singh later became prime minister in 2004. Notably, Malhotra was the only BJP candidate to win from Delhi in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.