Former Maharashtra CM and ex-Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, who counted among Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s most trusted aides, passed away early Friday, aged 86.
The ailing Mr. Joshi breathed his last at around 3 a.m. at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital following a cardiac arrest, sources said. His body was kept at his Matunga residence for people to pay their final respects. His funeral was later held at the iconic Shivaji Park in Dadar, where Mr. Joshi was cremated with full state honours.
One of the most recognizable faces of the Shiv Sena during its formative years, Mr. Joshi became the Chief Minister of a non-Congress government for the first time in Maharashtra after the undivided Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mahayuti coalition came to power in 1995.
