Congress leader and former member of parliament (MP) Shyama Sinha, wife of former governor Nikhil Kumar, passed away after prolonged illness in New Delhi on Monday. She was 74.

Shyama Sinha

Daughter-in-law of former Bihar chief minister Satyendra Narayan Sinha, she died during the course of treatment at Delhi’s Escorts Fortis hospital in the wee hours of Monday.

Beginning her career in active politics at the initiative of former Prime Minister the late Rajiv Gandhi, Sinha entered parliament in 1999 – the same year as Congress president Sonia Gandhi made her parliamentary debut – from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat of Bihar.

Born on November 26, 1942, Sinha had played a pivotal role as an MP in reviving the Nabinagar super thermal power project, which her father in-law had conceived during his stint as the chief minister in 1998.

Nitish Kumar and state Congress chief Ashok Choudhary

Many senior leaders, including chief minister Nitish Kumar and state Congress chief Ashok Choudhary, have condoled her death and described it as a major loss to the state.

Former governor of Nagaland and Kerala Nikhil Kumar will reach Patna with her body on Tuesday morning. Family sources said Sinha would be cremated in Patna on Wednesday.

In his condolence message, chief minister Kumar said Shyama Sinha was not only a popular political leader, but also an outstanding social worker.

Ashok Choudhary termed her death as his personal loss, and said the void left by her death would not be easy to fill.

Many senior leaders, including former Union minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh, AICC media panellist Prem Chandra Mishra, former minister Kripanath Pathak and BPCC spokesman Harkhu Jha said the party had lost a powerful voice in social and political arena of Bihar.

Sinha was also former vice president of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee.