India, Dec. 21 -- Shalinitai Patil, former Maharashtra minister and wife of late chief minister Vasantdada Patil, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday. She was 94.

She was widely known for maintaining a strong and independent political identity. Her most notable achievement came in 1999, when she defeated former Maharashtra assembly speaker and senior Congress leader Shankarrao Jagtap, bringing an end to his nearly 25-year-long legislative career. The win was regarded as one of the biggest political upsets in western Maharashtra at the time and highlighted her popularity and influence in Koregaon and surrounding areas.

Shalinitai Patil began her political career at the grassroots level with the Satara district council and gradually rose th...