Bihar native Keshav Kumar, who works in Delhi, took a leave from office on Wednesday, so he could attend the funeral of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, such was the appeal of her personality.
People from multiple faiths converged at the crematorium, and many came from as far as Madhya Pradesh to pay homage to Swaraj.
Kumar, 23, who hails from Bhagalpur, offered prayers at the gate of the electric crematorium on Lodhi Road after Swaraj was cremated with full state honours.
"I never met her, but had seen her speak on television channels, read about her in newspapers, her foreign policy. Swaraj ji's personality had left a big impression on me. I just had to be here, so I took an off from work today," he told PTI.
Keshav said he also visited the BJP headquarters, where her mortal remains were kept for a few hours for people to pay their respects, before being taken to the crematorium in a ceremonial hearse.
Swaraj died at AIIMS here late Tuesday night at the age of 67 after suffering a massive heart attack, plunging the country in a state of grief and sparking an outpouring of condolences from across the world.
At the crematorium, young and old, men and women, and people cutting across party lines and belonging to different religions converged to pay their respects to the BJP stalwart, whose persona had endeared her to people.
National president of Jamaat Ulama-e-Hind Molana Suhaib Qasmi, who came with a group of people from Nizamuddin area, said, "Her death is a big loss for the party, and the country."
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