One of the most renowned names in Indian politics, Pramod Mahajan was one of the most credible politicians of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He held several degrees under his name, he was well-versed in physics, political science, and journalism. He played a part in making BJP a mainstream political party, an alternative to the Congress which had dominated national politics since Independence.
October 30 will be the 71st birth anniversary of Mahajan. Here are some lesser-known facts about BJP's veteran leader.
Born on October 30, his journey from being the son of a teacher to a journalist to the Union Minister of India is inspiring.
He had a degree in journalism from Ranade Institute of Journalism, Pune (Department of Communication and Journalism, SPPU).
He worked as an English teacher at the Kholeshwar college in Ambejogai between 1971 and 1974 before joining active politics.
He joined politics in 1980 and worked hard to bring the BJP to power in 1998.
He belonged to a group of relatively young "technocratic" leaders who lacked a reasonably strong grassroots political base.
He served several ministerial positions in the party during the peak period of his career.
During the Vajpayee-Advani era, he earned the title of the 'Chanakya of BJP'.
Pramod Mahajan did hit a rough patch later in his life, post the 2004 failure of BJP in elections. His political campaigns before the election came a cropper as the India Shining campaign failed.
Mahajan was expected to continue his journey in politics but he met with an untimely and unnatural death in 2006.
His brother, Pravin Mahajan shot at and fatally injured Mahajan, over some family dispute.
Pramod died after 13 days on May 3, 2006, in Mumbai.
