Pramod Mahajan Biography

The young Turk of the BJP, Pramod Mahajan lived a life less ordinary and so was his death. Born on 30 October 1949 in Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh, he was one of the most important second-generation leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP). Mahajan was seen by many as the emerging leader of the BJP and tipped to be Prime Ministerial material.He was credited with leading the BJP to numerous poll victories. However, he faced much flak for the BJP’s defeat in the 2004 general elections. He was the Minister for Telecommunications in the Union Government between 2001 and 2003, besides serving as the Parliamentary Affairs minister.

He studied at the Yogeshwari Vidyalaya and Mahavidyalaya in Maharashtra’s Beed district and subsequently secured bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Journalism and a post graduate degree in Political Science. He was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his childhood days. He began working as a sub-editor in the RSS’s Marathi magazine, Tarun Bharat during 1970-71 and was a part of the agitation against the imposition of emergency by Indira Gandhi. Pramod was arrested and lodged in the Nashik central jail till the Emergency was lifted. He contested the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, but was unsuccessful.

He came into prominence when he helped organize BJP President Lal Krishna Advani’s Rath Yatra in 1990 and was made Defence Minister in Vajpayee’s short-lived government in 1996. When the BJP came back to power in 1998, he was initially appointed as the advisor to the Prime Minister. He however resigned from the post and contested the Rajya Sabha elections, which he won. He subsequently became the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and Food Processing in 1998. Next year, he became Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources. He left Water Resources and became Minister of Information Technology together with Parliamentary Affairs.

On 22 April 2006, Pramod Mahajan’s younger brother, Pravin shot at him from his licensed revolver. Pramod was rushed to hospital, but the doctors were unable to save his life. He passed away on 3 May 2006.