RIP Pramod Mahajan

Senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan finally succumbed to his injuries in Mumbai after being shot three times at point blank range by his younger brother, Praveen.

While I may not necessarily side with any politician, his death is indeed a blow to the opposition, the BJP, which has been struggling to look for some future leadership. Pramod was that future leadership, along with others like Arun Jaitly and Rajnath Singh. Singh is the current President of the party at the center, but he will prove his mettle once he delivers UP to the BJP. Although Rajnath is a former CM of the state, the state has been shuttling between two regional parties, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party for the last couple of years. Needless to say, both of these parties are steeped in regionalism and casteism. Another leader, Sushma Swaraj, has been a big disappointment.

I say that currently I do not lean on any politician, but I would be lying if i said I didnt lean towards the BJP. And as long as the rest of the hypocritical world keeps calling them "Hindu Nationalists/Extremists", I think my support will remain. Plus I think i am a conservative at heart. My basic question is this, can I not be a Hindu and still love my country? Apparently New York Times and other illustrious western publications don't seem to think so.

But coming back to Mr. Mahajan, he was the new, modern face of the BJP. Mahajan was confident, trouble shooter, and a go-getter. Despite allegations of his close links to some business houses and other corruption charges (like any other politician in the country doesn't have them), I have to give him props for being forward looking, and generally leaving the ministries he headed better off. Is it a wonder the various industry associations are also vocal in their condolances?

Pramod might most be remembered for spearheading the "India Shining" campaign during the NDA regime. Of course, from being a campaign of pride, it became a campaign of embarassment once the BJP were routed in the next national elections. His death reinforces the bane of Indian politics: the good die young. Madhavrao Scindia is a name that instantly comes to mind.

To end the post, Pramod Mahajan should be remembered for his confidence and guts to get things done, qualities which are severely lacking in the modern day politician. He had a good head on his shoulders, and hopefully we will continue to get leaders who are as driven as he was.

Mahajan: A political impresario

Pramod Mahajan, the BJP’s bright young hope, stood out in the crowd because of his flamboyance, confidence and political networking. These qualities earned him praise but also criticism and envy in equal measure.

Mahajan may not have been a mass leader, but he was the ultimate political impresario—someone who had the ability to network with politicians, corporate leaders and film personalities with great style.

These management skills made him a valuable asset for the BJP, which only a decade ago was ideologically isolated. Not surprisingly, Vajpayee relied on Mahajan as his crisis manager and gave him crucial portfolios like information and broadcasting and telecommunications.

But it was Mahajan’s flamboyant style and India Shining campaign that were held responsible for the NDA’s defeat in 2004. His high-flying image took a beating and he was accused of controversial dealings. Even the RSS distanced itself from him.

That was a lean phase, but two years later Mahajan was again in the spotlight, handling the BJP's election campaign in Assam and once again becoming the torchbearer of the next generation of BJP leaders who could help resolve the party's ideological crisis.

His critics perhaps felt his smirk was arrogance. For Mahajan, it was self-confidence—the confidence of someone who had made it from the dirt tracks of Marathwada to the power corridors of the country.
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Industry friendly, Mahajan pushed IT, telecom reforms

For all practical purposes, he was considered as the BJP’s interface with industry. Even before the BJP-led NDA government came to power in 1999-2000 and he became a minister, Mahajan was a frequent visitor to business meets, hobnobbing with corporate honchos.

When the BJP government took over, it was clear that Mahajan would get an industry-related portfolio. Nobody was surprised when he became the Minister for Information Technology and telecommunications in the Vajpayee government. Mahajan initiated the process to enact the IT Act and kicked off government-private sector initiative in the sector.

‘‘Mahajan was a decisive, forward-looking liberalizer who had a quick grasp of economic issues,’’ said R Seshasayee, President, CII.

As the telecom minister, Mahajan took the important decision to free up more spectrum for the private sector wireless telecom players, leading to more competition and lower tariffs.

He was not a stranger to controversies. Mahajan allowed Reliance to offer nationwide wireless phone services, then banned under the old licensing conditions. This decision was opposed tooth and nail by GSM mobile players. However, Mahajan denied on several occasions that he had favoured the Reliance group.

As the telecom minister, Pramod Mahajan had objected to the Tata group investing Rs 1,200 crore belonging to Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (after it was sold to the Tatas). In another controversial decision, he allowed MTNL to invest Rs 250 crore in Maharashtra’s MKVDC, which was below investment grade then.

It was again due to Mahajan’s insistance that the BJP government came out with a National Telecom Policy which allowed the telecom companies to migrate to revenue sharing fees from the earlier bid-and-win licensing policies. This, many agree, sparked off India’s telecom revolution.
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Coming to the internal functioning of the BJP, they have lost a good manager, somebody, like i said before, who got stuff done. Congress is rearing the next line of the Gandhi dynasty to lead them to salvation, but who will the BJP ride on?

Who’ll do the dirty work now?

Mahajan had a unique position in the BJP. He was at once its chief fundraiser and leading strategist, a skilled organiser and an interlocutor, valuable in the current era of coalition politics. In addition, he had the most important qualification for a BJP leader: a hotline with the RSS, which had started to appreciate his value as a man for all seasons, despite his ‘Shining India’ blunder that cost the BJP General Election 2004 and his lavish lifestyle.

None among the BJP’s second-generation leaders can match Mahajan’s impressive array of skills. All have their talents, but not the versatility that made him an invaluable lieutenant, first to Advani during his rathyatra days, then to Vajpayee when he was Prime Minister, and now to party president Rajnath Singh. Arun Jaitley has an impressive network across the political spectrum, but he has shown no inclination to tackle the nuts and bolts of managing a party. Sushma Swaraj has chosen to box herself in a saffron corner.

Rajnath Singh is largely seen as an interim president, with little appeal outside his North Indian thakur caste. Venkaiah Naidu is better known for his garrulous appearances on television. And Narendra Modi, who could perhaps claim to match Mahajan’s many talents, is a non-starter for a national role because of the communal stain he carries.

While most of his contemporaries took the moral high ground on money matters, he had no qualms about getting his hands dirty. He, who started as a small-town schoolteacher, made his way easily into Mumbai’s corporate world to establish close connections with leading industrial houses like the Reliance, Essar and Bharti groups, the Tatas and the Singhanias.