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.
He had was perceived as a technocrat, a man who was a manager-type politician. He joined politics in 1980 and worked hard to bring the BJP to power in 1998.
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 and the India Shining campaign failed.
Pramod Mahajan had a cruel death, he became a victim of his own blood, his brother. On 22nd April 2006, news broke out that the BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was hospitalized after being shot by his brother Pravin Mahajan. The media was shaken by the scandalous turn of events.
After being hospitalized for 13 days, Pramod succumbed to a cardiac arrest on 3rd May 2006 at 4:10 p.m, while in hospital.
According to Pravin Mahajan, he didn’t intend to kill his brother. Later in an interview, Pravin revealed that in a heated fight that lasted only 15 minutes, he ended up shooting his brother. He had said, "I did not kill them. It was just a 15-minute fight and in a moment's anger I fired. I still regret for that day."(sic)
Pravin had shot his brother four times with a 0.32 Browning pistol. One bullet was missed, but the remaining three penetrated Mahajan's body. He later self-surrendered at the Worli police station and was ordered lifetime imprisonment.
