Sunset at Noon

Media shocked too

The sudden death of Shri Pramodji was a shock as much to the nation as to the media. There was a spate of editorial comments on the nation’s loss because of his departure from this world. We present excepts of the editorial opinion that was published in major English dailies of the country.

Rest in peace

Pramod Mahajan, a true leader — Whenever he was buffeted by a political storm, and there were many in the two-and-a-half decades that Pramod Mahajan spent in the BJP, he would resolutely battle on, refusing to accept defeat. Indeed, numerous are the occasions when he snatched victory for the BJP from the jaws of defeat and loss, on the electoral battlefield and while negotiating alliances. Yet, on Wednesday (May 3,2006) he lost the last battle of his life after valiantly fighting death for 12 days in the intensive care unit of a Mumbai hospital.

It’s almost as if he was destined to lose this battle against the grim reaper. It’s a tragic and cruel end to a promising career as a politician; those who knew him personally, will feel the painful loss of a friend who would always be there when you needed him most. For the BJP, Pramod Mahajan’s death has come as a body blow: The party will be bereft of his organisational skills and his ability to transcend party lines to acquire friends and allies without which perhaps the National Democratic Alliance would never have been born, nor would the BJP ever have come to power in Maharashtra.

His critics would often berate him for being a ‘pragmatist’ but Pramod Mahajan wore his pragmatism on his sleeves, just as he wore his ideological commitment as a badge of honour. His loyalty to the BJP was absolute and beyond reproach; the party was his sole passion. Over the years he made the BJP into a modern political machinery with the help of both technology and a forward-looking agenda in tune with the aspirations of 21st century India. He truly represented the BJP’s gen-next leadership, brimming with ideas to catch the popular imagination - Mr LK Advani’s hugely successful Ram rath yatra of 1990 that catapulted him and the BJP into the centrestage of national politics was master-minded by Pramod Mahajan - and to keep in tune with changing ground realities and voter preferences.

The 2004 election campaign may have not fetched victory for the BJP, but it would be grossly unfair and wholly incorrect to blame Pramod Mahajan’s visionary use of new technology and media to connect with the masses. When he spoke at public meetings, he effortlessly connected with the youth who saw him as one of them rather than a 56-year-old politician seeking votes. As a spokesman, he was articulate and media savvy, yet he never promoted himself over his party...

Equally at ease among unwashed masses and India’s powerful movers and shakers, he never allowed himself to be carried away either by adulation or craven sycophancy. His earnestness while addressing a rally or answering a mediaperson’s query was not a politician’s act, but the manifestation of his unshakeable faith in India and its indigenous abilities.

When the sun sets on Thursday (May 4), the country would have bid farewell to an illustrious son of the soil who rose from his humble origins to dizzying heights of power, thus proving that conventional disadvantages can be overcome through grit and determination. The BJP would be clearly hobbled by his absence, but that is not how Pramod Mahajan would have wanted it. The party organisation, as he would often say, should be such that individuals cease to matter. But the void left by individuals is not easy to fill. Pramod Mahajan will be missed - by the country, by the BJP, by his friends and by his family. May his soul rest in peace.

A flamboyant warrior

Pramod Mahajan’s....passing is made worse for the manner in which it happened. It was a tragedy the family and the party could have done without. At 56, the BJP general secretary was at the peak of his career and a candidate for Prime Minister in a party... crucially dependent on him for the revival of its sagging fortunes. From humble schoolteacher to powerful party general secretary, it was a complicated yet remarkable journey for the self-made man with a reputation that preceded him. Mr. Mahajan started his political life in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.... Needless to say, the flamboyance of spirit.... stuck him with an image that brought him brickbats as well as bouquets.

Yet ...the politically astute Mr. Mahajan was a necessity for them. In a crisis, the BJP leadership instinctively turned to him..... Mr. Mahajan was a backroom expert credited with approaching politics like a corporate head. The strategy paid the BJP handsome dividends in the closely fought 2003 Assembly elections and Mr. Mahajan’s poll management technique assumed legendary proportions.... To Mr. Mahajan’s credit, he did not blame the (2004) debacle on others, admitting instead to misreading the public mood. In Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s fond imagination, Mr. Mahajan was Lakshman to Lal Krishna Advani’s Ram. Few could have known that the Lakshman would make his exit without fulfilling the task assigned to him.

Pramod Mahajan
Gone in the prime of life

General secretary of the BJP he may have been, but Pramod Mahajan always set forth as if he was a general launching into battle. Regardless of his party designation, he was the organisation’s man for all seasons and reasons. Sharp, resourceful and aggressive, he packed equal punch both as a doer and a speaker. As a doer, he stopped at nothing on the way to the goal, which was a mix of personal ambition and party objectives. He saw himself as a future Prime Minister, more so after Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee had anointed him as Lakshman of the Ram party. Unfortunately, that can never be after his brother pulled the trigger on him, leading to a tragedy that has wounded deeply the family, party and his large following.

Mahajan excelled as an organiser and fund-raiser. Although the “Shining India” campaign, which he had conceived and implemented, was a cop-out for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha elections, he had several other electoral successes to his credit. He revelled in mobilising both the masses and the moneyed class. For a lad, who rose from a village school, he quickly learnt the ropes for dealing with the rich and powerful of India Inc.....

He was the most visible and effective of the BJP’s Gen Next leaders with excellent trans-party relations..... the RSS realised that he was the party’s biggest asset, in many senses of the term. His demise will leave the BJP deeply deprived as well as disheartened at a time when it is in a sea of troubles.

Pramod Mahajan and BJP

In death he grew bigger than he was in real life....

Of course, the BIP would find it hard to replace Mahajan. He was a quintessential politician who could be relied upon to fix all manners of problems. From men to money, Pramod was the BJP talisman for all seasons. He had what it took to be a successful modern-day politician. A pleasing demeanor..., and, above all, a knack for managing people, winning them over with whatever it took is what made Mahajan so successful. He reached out to people across the political spectrum. He had friends in all political parties, including the CPI (M), and could work his connections behind-the-scenes for the sake of the BJP. .... Pursuit of success in his chosen field of activity at all costs was his motto. He got pilloried for that no-holds-barred approach to politics because he more often than not seemed to succeed -- while others... other parties raised a cavil not because they were any the less unprincipled but because they seemed to fail despite their amorality.

Indeed, what for that huge image problem Pramod had everything going for him. In the inevitable rise of the second rung in the BJP, he was a formidable contender. For, he had the silver tongue of Vajpayee and the organisational abilities of Advani....