Senior Journalist Payal Mehta Dies at 46 in Mumbai, Modi and Political Leaders Pay Tribute

India: Senior political journalist and CNN-News18 Assistant Editor Payal Mehta died in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday, September 20, 2026, at the age of 46. Her sudden death has sent shockwaves through India’s journalism community, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several senior political leaders expressing condolences.

According to reports, Mehta developed sudden uneasiness late Saturday night while she was in Mumbai. She was taken to a hospital at around 2am, but doctors reportedly found no pulse and she could not be revived. The exact cause of her death has not been officially confirmed.

Mehta had more than 15 years of experience in journalism and was a familiar face on the Parliament beat. Her reporting focused on Parliament, government policies, the BJP and NDA, national affairs and elections. Colleagues described her as a hardworking and energetic reporter who frequently remained at Parliament from early morning until late at night during important sessions.

She began her journalism career in 2008 with Mumbai-based Focus TV, initially covering sports, including cricket and national and international sporting events. She later moved into political and parliamentary journalism and worked with several major Indian media organisations, including NewsX, Republic TV, Asian News International (ANI) and CNN-News18.

Mehta worked with CNN-News18 in two stints. She first joined the organisation around 2018 and remained there until 2022 before returning in June 2023 as Assistant Editor, a position she held until her death. She also contributed reports and bylines to ANI on political and national affairs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Mehta in a post on X, describing her as a hardworking journalist who remained closely connected with the ground and brought a deep understanding of national issues to her reporting. He also remembered her kindness and warmth.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, other Union ministers, chief ministers, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and members of the media fraternity also expressed condolences.

NDTV Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul, who worked with Mehta between 2017 and 2019, shared a personal tribute recalling their reporting assignments together, including a visit to the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. He remembered her for what he described as her “indomitable spirit.”

Mehta was known for her multilingual abilities, with reports stating that she was fluent in Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali. She was a commerce graduate and had professional links to Kolkata and Gujarat, while being based in the National Capital Region in recent years.

Her death has prompted an outpouring of tributes from political leaders, journalists and colleagues, who have remembered her long career covering Indian politics, Parliament and national affairs.